Steps To Success
by Flower Cynic
Summary: Life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes you get lucky. Sakura/Ino.
1. Step One: Spur Of The Moment

Okay, because I've been making a 'Second Step', this is technically no longer a oneshot. I doubt that I'll stop on the second one, either.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I honestly don't wanna try to spell out who does.

* * *

Sakura smiled as she walked towards where she knew the Yamanaka Flower Shop would be, going through several flowers in her mind to try and decide which would be the best for her mother. Her birthday was tomorrow, but Sakura didn't have enough money for an actual gift for her. Besides, her father was already taking her out to dinner, so Sakura didn't really need to get her anything fancy. She had decided on getting her a flower or two.

However, for all she knew, the pinkette could accidently get her mother a flower that had something to do with sadness. Or even worse, hate. Would her mother really know the difference? Even if she didn't, Sakura wanted to be able to tell her what the flower meant once she gave it to her.

The fact that she was going to the Yamanaka Flower Shop reminded Sakura of Ino and her more recent feelings for her. A few weeks ago she had confided in Naruto about them, and he had been surprisingly supportive of her. That was shown by his constant encouraging her to go and tell Ino how she felt. She still hadn't got used to that whenever it happened.

Walking into the shop, all Sakura had to see was a bit of platinum blonde hair instead of a more golden shade to know that it was Ino tending to the shop instead of her father. Turning on her heel, Sakura began to look over several types of flowers that were set off to her left. She found herself looking at lilies, then what seemed like lilacs, then an odd yellow flower that Sakura couldn't put a name to.

"Listen up, Ino-pig," The pink-haired girl started, carefully touching a petal of the odd flower. "I'm looking for a flower or bouquet for my mother, since it's her birthday today. I need the perfect flower, as well as to know what it means. Any suggestions?" She asked.

When she didn't receive an answer right away, Sakura pulled her bright green eyes away from the unknown flower to look at the girl that she had just finished speaking to. "Uh, Ino...?" She muttered, walking towards the blonde with some worry on her face.

Ino had the left side of her head pressed against the top of the counter with her arms hanging down by her chair. There was a small pool of drool on the counter by where her opened mouth was, which made Sakura smile with amusement when she saw it. Her platinum blonde hair was loose from it's ponytail, something that Sakura had honestly never seen before.

Concluding that Ino was simply sleeping and not ignoring her, Sakura frowned slightly and placed a hand on Ino's shoulder. Ino had never been asleep while at the shop as far as she knew. That fact made her both curious and concerned as to why this time was any different.

"Ino. Ino-pig, wake up," Sakura called, shaking the platinum blonde until she let out an annoyed groan. "C'mon, you're at the shop. Your dad won't be very happy if he catches you," She told the half-asleep ninja, which seemed to get through to the blonde, since she grunted and hauled herself off of the counter to sit up in her chair.

Ino casually wiped her mouth and blinked several times to get rid of her blurry vision, gazing around the shop before actually looking up at Sakura. "Mhm...Forehead, wha' d'you want?" She drawled, reaching behind her and pulling the elastic out of her hair in order to put it back in nicer.

"A flower for my mum," Sakura replied, placing her hands palm-down on the counter in front of Ino and leaning on her arms with a concerned frown. "That can wait for a bit, though. You never sleep on the job," She pointed out, looking sternly at Ino for an answer.

The blonde tilted her head back and closed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair before gathering most of it up at the back of her head. She calmly put it back into a ponytail, flicking the several strands of hair that she always left out of her ponytail out of her face. "I don't," She agreed, somewhat aware that she looked tired from the way that Sakura was eyeing her suspiciously.

"But you were just asleep," Sakura continued slowly, like she was speaking to a child.

"I was," Ino nodded, rubbing her right eye tiredly, despite the fact that she wanted it to look like she was completely awake to Sakura.

Frowning slightly more, Sakura remained silent for a few moments, quietly thinking of a way to get a good response out of Ino that wasn't simply two words. After glancing down at the top of the counter that Ino had been resting on just a few moments ago, her mouth twisted up into a smirk at the idea she thought of.

"You were drooling, too," Sakura teased and immediately got the reaction she had expected to get from her former best friend.

"What?! I did no such thing! Get your facts straight, Billboard Brow!" Ino cried out with a scowl on her face, standing up from her chair and slamming her hands down on the counter. Unfortunately, her right hand hit the one spot on the counter top that Sakura had made sure not to touch.

The pink-haired girl laughed at the absolutely horrified expression on Ino's face when the blonde lifted her hand from the puddle of drool that she had slammed it into. Too grossed out to speak, Ino silently walked away from the madly giggling Sakura and into another room that Sakura assumed was the bathroom.

"I told you so, Pig!" Sakura called, only giggling more when Ino came out with an even more noticeable scowl on her face, some paper towel in her hand. "Hey, that makes me wonder," Placing a finger on her chin, Sakura took on a look of exaggerated thinking. "What were you drooling about, huh? _Who_ were you drooling about?"

While Sakura had continued to tease Ino, the blonde had wiped up the drool on the counter that was obviously her's. Her blue eyes were narrowed with annoyance the whole time, not letting up even after she had thrown the paper towel in the garbage.

"Maybe Choji?" Sakura suggested. She couldn't help bugging her former best friend. She just made it so easy sometimes. Maybe this time she should've kept that comment to herself, though, after what Ino did next.

Making an offended sound, Ino rounded the counter and started to advance on Sakura, making the pinkette start taking steps back to keep a safe amount of space between her and the angry Yamanaka. "Forehead...!" She growled, looking almost like an angry lion stalking towards it's prey.

"Calm down, Ino! Seriously, I was just joking!" Sakura held her hands up in front of her defensively, her bright green eyes wide at the slightly taller girl. "C'mon, be-" The door to the Yamanaka Flower Shop had been slammed in her face and locked. Lucky for her, though the door was glass, so she could see the smug look on Ino's face before she turned and wandered back to her seat.

"Oh, come on! I'm sorry, alright?" Sakura lightly banged on the door, turning her mouth up slightly when Ino simply stuck her tongue out at her in response. "Let me in! I need a flower for my mom!"

"Should've thought about that before you opened your mouth!" Ino called back, crossing her arms over her chest with her smug expression still intact.

Sakura pressed her palms against the glass and stared at Ino, forcing her eyes to water. She stuck her bottom lip out and made it tremble to complete her sad puppy dog look, which made the blonde roll her eyes.

"Forehead, that may have worked when we were kids, but not now!" Ino blinked when Sakura didn't get rid of the pathetic looking expression and just continued to stare at Ino sadly.

_Don't- No, Ino. You stay down on the chair. Damn it!_ Ino cursed in her head when she found herself standing up from her chair and walking towards the door. She couldn't hide the smirk that replaced her frustrated frown when Sakura looked at her hopefully, if a little suspiciously at the chances of this being a trick of her's.

"So, what flower d'you think my mum would like the best?" Sakura asked after flashing Ino a grateful grin when the younger girl let her in. "I don't want something too expected...Sorta unique, so I know she won't be expected it."

"Well, there's always that flower," Ino nodded towards the odd flower that Sakura had been looking at earlier. "The Bird of Paradise. It basically means magnificence." Turning her head slightly, Ino held up a hand to silence Sakura before she could say anything. "No wait, that flower there. The Azalea. It means 'take care of yourself for me'."

"What about that one? That's a carnation, right? My mum's favourite," Sakura pointed to a yellow carnation, watching as an amused look crossed Ino's face. "What? Is it's meaning that bad?"

"It means disdain or rejection," Ino stepped towards the carnations and pulled out a single white one, grinning slightly as she held it up to her nose and sniffed it quietly. "The white one is what you want. It's a woman's good luck gift."

"You people sure know your flowers," Sakura smiled and took the white carnation from Ino when the blonde presented it to her. "How much do I owe you?" She asked, fishing through her pocket.

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house," Ino waved her off with a bored look on her face, raising an eyebrow when Sakura look at her with a stern expression on her face. "Oh no, what did I do?"

"Ino, come on. How much is it?" Sakura asked, this time in a much firmer tone than before. There was no way she was going to let Ino give this to her for free, especially if Ino was going to pay for it herself just so it didn't seem suspicious when the shop was short a flower.

The aforementioned girl smirked, amused at how...responsible Sakura was, before slowly walking towards her former best friend, making her hips sway noticeably.

Sakura blinked absently, watching the blonde suspiciously. She found her lips twitching slightly when Ino placed her hands on her shoulders and leaned forward. However, right as Sakura shut her eyes, Ino leaned more to the right so that her mouth was almost touching Sakura's ear.

"Your mother's birthday present from me is that her daughter doesn't have to pay for her gift. Wish your mum a happy birthday for me," Ino purred before stepping away from Sakura and sauntering back to her desk, leaving a brightly blushing Sakura behind her.

The pinkette opened and closed her mouth, trying to find something to say. What had just happened? Well, that was a stupid question. Of course she knew what had happened. Ino's flirtatious side had come out to play. Sakura just never had it directed at her before.

Wait, Ino hadn't found out her 'secret', had she? After all, the only way she could have ever found out was if Naruto told her, since he was the only one that Sakura had actually told. The boy was surprisingly understanding, so Sakura knew she could always confide in him if she ever had problems like that.

"Ino, Naruto didn't tell you anything about me, did he?" Sakura asked cautiously, and immediately smacked herself mentally as soon as she asked that. There was no way Naruto could have told Ino! Really, she had to have more faith in the boy, especially if he had kept her sexuality a secret for so long.

"No, why? Was he supposed to?" Ino asked, resting her elbows on the table. She clasped her fingers together and set her chin on top of the backs of her fingers, raising an eyebrow at Sakura.

"Nope. Just checkin'," Sakura waved Ino off with a sheepish grin. "Well, I guess I better be going. Gotta give this to my mum an' all," She turned on her heel and started walking towards the door, but stopped herself from actually opening the door when she heard Ino clear her throat with the purpose of getting her attention.

"Hey, d'you wanna get some ramen sometime later?" Ino asked, frowning slightly when Sakura turned her head to look at her over her shoulder with a sly grin.

"Are you asking me on a date, Pig?" Sakura gasped, putting a hand over her heart in a mock gesture of surprise. She really couldn't ever pass up a chance to tease her former best friend, especially when it embarrassed the taller girl.

"What? No!" Ino's eyes widened and her face went beet red at how Sakura seemed to take her invitation to go get ramen. "All I meant was that we hardly ever spend time together anymore, and-"

Sakura cut her off by laughing at how quick Ino was talking, shaking her head with amusement afterwards. "You make it so fun to bug you, Ino," She smiled, placing her hand on the door. "I'd love to, Pig. How's around four sound?" She asked.

"Four's good," Ino ran her finger through the part of her hair that wasn't in a ponytail, managing to fight off the redness in her face. "Meet ya' there?"

The older girl smiled and nodded in confirmation. "Sure. Seeya 'round." Turning back to the door, Sakura pushed it opened and began to walk back to her house, finally letting a rather goofy-looking grin appear on her face. Even if Ino didn't necessarily consider it a date, she thought of it as a 'first step'.

Really, it left her feeling a bit giddy on the inside. What would happen on their day out? Should she try and make a move on Ino? What would Ino think? Was Ino really as straight as they come? Despite all this, Sakura told herself exactly what she was going to do after she gave her mother her gift.

She had to go tell Naruto!

* * *

Well, there ya' go. Yeah, they do seem out of character to me, but oh well. Maybe I'll do better next time. Oh, and I really don't know if Ino's shorter than Sakura, but I do know that she's younger than her by a few months.

- Flower Cynic

EDIT: Alright, I was wrong. I went back and changed it so Ino's taller than Sakura. Thanks, erhsdrg!


	2. Step Two: Ramen, Anyone?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"Naruto! What do I wear?"

Sakura dug through her closet, intent on finding something that was just perfect for her 'first step' with Ino. Of course, she wasn't actually going to take whatever Naruto suggested her to wear into serious thought. He was a ninja that wore orange, after all. Naturally, Naruto knew that she wasn't really asking for what specific outfit she should wear. Nonetheless, he'd still offer his help.

"Well," Naruto started, watching curiously as Sakura moved away from her closet and towards her dresser, "you don't want to wear something too...flashy or formal." Scratching the bridge of his nose absently, Naruto blinked his eyes calmly before watching the clothes that Sakura held up to herself, shook her head, and shoved back into her dresser.

"Yeah?" Sakura nodded, jogging back to her closet without a single glance towards Naruto, even if she went right by him. "That makes sense. I mean, logic says she'd be wearing something casual," She mumbled, crouching down to look through her clothes that were folded up at the bottom of her closet.

"But you also need something that shows you off a bit. Not too much, but more so than usual...You said she was all flirty with you when you asked for the price? Well, watch carefully and see if she notices," Naruto crossed his arms and nodded with a frown, taking a seat on the end of Sakura's bed.

"True," The pink-haired girl sighed and stood back up, running her fingers through her hair and closing her eyes. Ino always was a straight-forward girl. If she wanted to touch something, she would. "Wow, Naruto, I honestly never would've thought you'd give me good clothing advice when I can't think straight," She smiled with amusement at the playful scoff of offense that she heard from behind her.

"Jean shorts?" Sakura picked up the aforementioned pair of shorts and held them up to her legs. "Better than pants, less obvious than a skirt. I suppose my red muscle shirt would be fine..." Sakura muttered under her breath, tossing both her muscle shirt and jean shorts onto the bed by Naruto.

"Sakura, it _is_ fine, so- Hey, what d'you think you're doing?" Naruto promptly stood and slapped Sakura's hand away from the obvious path it was making to her make-up case, earning himself a glare from the pink-haired girl. "Sakura, you don't have a pimple anywhere on your face, so you don't need that cheap junk. Just go get changed, and I'll say goodbye to you before you head off on your life-changing adventure."

"Naruto," Sakura groaned, though smiled nonetheless. "Whatever. Meet me downstairs, I'll be ready in a few minutes, alright?" Okay, so it was a rhetorical question. That was established by the fact that she had already collected up her clothing and was making a beeline towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her with her hip.

"I'm only going for ramen with Ino, this should _not_ be that...troublesome," Sakura winced at the only word she could come up with, thinking of Shikamaru and how he was probably out watching the clouds at the moment before pulling her shirt up and over her head.

The whole time she was getting dressed, Sakura was picturing what she should do and what she should say. She couldn't be too forward or obvious, but she couldn't be too subtle either. Maybe pretend like she was oblivious when she did something on purpose, like move to show more skin.

"I can so do this. Come on, Haruno," Sakura looked at her reflection in the mirror with determination. She pumped her fist into the air once with a grin before exiting the washroom and heading downstairs, where Naruto greeted her at the front door.

"Hey, Naruto," Sakura nodded towards the blonde, giving her friend a hug with a happy smile. "Thanks for, y'know, understanding when I told you. And thanks for...not going too crazy when I told you I was gonna go out for ramen with Ino."

"No problem. Just tell me how it goes, 'kay? You absolutely _have_ to get her, or I'll never forgive you," Naruto threatened, though Sakura could tell that he wasn't being serious on the last part simply because of his grin. "Now get out there and bag that blondie!"

Sakura laughed when she was pushed out the door, waving her farewell to Naruto, who was now watching her from the window, as she walked towards the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. She'd have to remember to treat Naruto to ramen some time soon, if only for staying with her while she went crazy over which clothes she should wear.

"Oh, I hope I get there on time."

* * *

Ino pursed her lips, capping her lipstick with a satisfied smile. She smoothed out her hip-hugging jeans and carefully adjusting her violet crop top, making sure that it looked alright while she was still in front of a mirror. She had convinced herself to go with her jeans instead of her jean skirt simply because paired up with the crop top, it was just too much skin at one time. Besides, she had worn her jean skirt one other time to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. It wasn't exactly pleasant to have the skirt riding up high when sitting on the stool.

Shutting the light off on her way out, Ino strode out of the washroom and into the living room, where her father was currently relaxing on the couch. "Mom taking care of the shop?" She inquired, realizing that her mother would be taking care of the shop after her since her father had ran it in the morning, before she started.

Inoichi nodded, tilting his head up to look at his platinum blonde-haired daughter with a smile. "Going out? Well, be sure it get back before ten," He told her, knowing that even if Ino wanted to, say, stay at a party until midnight, she'd listen to him and come back just before ten.

"Daddy, I'm just gonna hang out with Sakura. It's not like I'm gonna be out that late," Ino said and crouched down, hugging her father before leaving with a slightly panicked expression. She had seen the clock just after she had hugged Inoichi. "Bye! I'm already five minutes late!" She called over her shoulder, slamming the door just as her father yelled 'bye' in a rather surprised tone.

Ino walked briskly toward the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, relieved that it wasn't too far away from her home. She suddenly slapped her pocket, looking rather silly to anyone that was watching her walk by. _Good, I didn't forget my money..._ She thought with a smile, her long blonde hair bouncing slightly in it's ponytail in the wind created from her walking.

_Now, since Daddy gave me some money for working at the shop, I have more than enough for a few bowls of ramen...I doubt me and Forehead could ever eat as much as Naruto can, so I'm not in any danger of spending it all..._

The blonde flicked the portion of her hair that hung by her face before narrowing her teal eyes slightly, trying to make the figure standing outside of the Ichiraku Ramen Bar a bit clearer. She already knew who it was, though. The obvious pink hair was a dead give away.

"Hey, Forehead!" Ino called, waving to the aforementioned girl with a grin when, even though she still wasn't quite to Sakura, she could see the girl huff at the nickname. "What, they wouldn't let you in without money?" She teased when she finally got up to the shorter girl, her eyes narrowed slightly because of her grin.

_Oh my God, she's wearing a crop top!_ Subconsciously drawing in a quick breath, Sakura smiled challengingly at Ino. "What, do _you_ have any money, Pig?" She shot back, forcing herself to not look away from Ino's face for even a second. At least, not when the blonde was watching her.

"As a matter of fact," Ino drawled in a smart-alecky tone, pulling money out of her pocket, "I do. Maybe if I feel nice enough, I'll treat you to some ramen."

"Well, you _have_ to. You're the one who asked me to come here with you, after all," Sakura pointed out, a smug expression crossing her face when Ino simply scoffed out of annoyance. Satisfied that she had won the mini-battle, Sakura grabbed Ino's fore-arm and dragged her into the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, ordering two bowls of miso ramen as soon as Teuchi glanced at the two girls.

After getting over the surprise of actually being dragged somewhere, Ino took a seat on the stool by Sakura. She needed something to do while their ramen was being prepared. Glancing around to make sure nobody else was in the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, Ino stood back and and moved down to the stool that was farthest away from Sakura.

The pinkette looked at Ino questioningly, only to see a forced innocent look on the blonde's face. It took a few seconds (as well as the sight of Ino unable to hide a smirk) to realize that Ino was simply playing a game, and apparently she was supposed to be playing it as well, judging by the look on Ino's face.

Looking as casual as possible, Sakura scooted over a few stools to sit beside Ino again. "Don't think you're gonna get away from me that easy," She paused and thought for a few moments, trying to remember the name that Ino hated to be called by her mother, "...sweetie."

Ino shoved Sakura, making the pink-haired girl lose her balance long enough for Ino to get away from her without Sakura grabbing her. "Hah!" She laughed when Sakura frowned and hopped off of the stool. "You know I'm just gonna get away from you, right?"

Sakura shook her head, a smirk showing on her face. "No you won't," She grinned and forced Ino to stay on the stool by placing her hands firmly on her thighs before turning and hopping up onto the blonde's lap.

Grunting from the sudden weight on her lap, Ino squirmed, trying to either find a way to get more comfortable or to get Sakura off her lap. "Gah, Forehead! It's a thing called 'personal space'!" She turned on the stool and pressed her back against the wall so she didn't fall backwards.

"Well, how else am I suppose to keep you down?" Sakura grinned and tilted her head back until she could clearly see Ino's teal eyes. She ended up having to lean back as well, since she didn't want to hurt her neck. Sure, maybe she was being a bit forward, but Ino didn't seem to mind _too_ much.

Ino raised an eyebrow, suddenly touching the tip of her index finger to Sakura's forehead. "Careful. You may not be able to lift her head back up 'cause of the weight of this forehead of your's," She teased, earning a glare from Sakura. Her finger was also slapped away, much to her amusement.

"Shut up, Ino-pig."

"And that chest! It's so flat!"

"Just because you have huge..._gazoombas_ doesn't mean everyone does!" Sakura huffed and scowled. However, that scowl gave way to a smile after Ino started laughing, obviously because of the term she had used.

"Ladies? Your ramen is ready."

Sakura nodded gratefully to the old man, still aware of Ino giggling from behind her. She pursed her lips, waiting until her grin died down a bit before even trying to scoop some ramen into her mouth.

The pink-haired girl nearly choked on the ramen in her mouth with she felt the blonde who's lap she was sitting on lean forward, though Sakura didn't know if Ino had accidentally pressed the whole front of her body to her or if she did it on purpose. Nevertheless, she had to cover her mouth and swallow forcefully.

Ino rested her chin on Sakura's shoulder, pulling her own bowl of ramen toward her. "Hey, don't cough up a lung while you're still on me," She commented when Sakura started wheezing, trying to clear her throat from swallowing her whole mouthful of ramen.

"Yeah, I'll just cough up a lung on this stool..." Sakura slid off of Ino and directly onto the stool next to her, managing to keep a blush off of her face. She pulled her ramen away from Ino so that it was in front of her.

_Good job, Sakura. You are soooo smart... _Sakura thought with a frown, poking absently at her ramen. _Yeah, sitting on your friend's lap is totally fine. _Casting a subtle glance at Ino, Sakura looked at the blonde's stomach. _Hey, I got an idea..._

"Hey Ino," Sakura looked back at her food, though she could see Ino turn her head to look at her with her mouth full of ramen out of the corner of her eye. "Let's go swimming."

"Ohh, not today, Sakura," Ino said after a few silent moments, having swallowed the ramen she had stuffed in her mouth. "I have to find my swimsuit. I'll look for it when I get home, and if I see you tomorrow, I'll tell you if I found it or not," She cast an apologetic look at Sakura, who, despite herself, had a disappointed look on her face.

"That's alright, Ino," Sakura said, offering the blonde a smile before looking back at her food. Truthfully, she had just wanted to see Ino in a bikini, which she didn't doubt the blonde had. Maybe some other time.

"If you're sure it's fine..." Ino looked suspiciously at Sakura, like she didn't believe the pinkette. "Look, we'll go for a walk since we can't go swimming today, 'kay? Don't look so down."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. She recalled that Ino always did hate feeling guilty. "Sure. We just gotta finish our ramen..."

* * *

Ino gingerly stroked her bare stomach and winced, glaring at Sakura when the pink-haired girl couldn't hold back a snicker. "You shut up, Forehead," She grumbled, bending forward to examine her sore stomach with a frown.

Sakura smiled and walked towards Ino. "Sorry. It's just...You should have been your face when you tripped and knocked the wind outta yourself!" She snickered again, though her hand quickly flew to her mouth to try and stop them.

While running after Sakura, Ino had tripped on something that she hadn't exactly seen just as Sakura looked over her shoulder to see how close to her she was. The blonde had ended up landing right on her stomach, and had to take a minute or two to recover enough from the shock to be able to get up. The fact that she had knocked the wind out of herself had something to do with it, too.

"Kinda hard when you're too busy gasping on the ground," Ino grumbled crossly, still rubbing her thumb around her navel. She sighed and walked towards a large oak tree, sitting in front of it with her back against it. One of her legs was bent while the other was straight out.

Sakura followed the blonde, sitting by her friend with her legs crossed. "But really, are you okay? You landed pretty hard," She asked, glancing worriedly at the taller girl with a small frown on her face.

Ino waved her off, turning her head to look down at the pinkette. "I'm fine," She told her, tilting her head back to rest against the base of the tree like her back was.

Blinking, Sakura turned to look at Ino. "Hey Pig, come here. Sit down right here," She pointed to the spot just in front of her. At Ino's slightly indignant and stubborn expression at being told to do something by the pinkette, Sakura stuck her lower lip out slightly. "Please?"

"Whatever," Ino grunted and used her arms and legs to move without really standing up, sitting down in front of Sakura. Before she had the chance to turn her head to look over her shoulder, Sakura had her hair and was pulling the elastic out. "What's with you and my hair?" She asked with amusement, remembering that Sakura had had some sort of fascination with her hair before they had started being rivals.

"It's hard to explain," Sakura set the elastic on her thigh and ran her fingers through Ino's silky blonde hair, detecting traces of vanilla coming from Ino's hair. "I just adore it. Your hair's so silky and long..." She sighed happily and, finding that she was a bit lost in the moment, wrapped her arms around Ino's waist and pulled her towards herself.

"I love it when you have your hair down. You should keep it down when we go swimming," Sakura murmured, closing her eyes and resting her chin on Ino's shoulder like the blonde had done at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar.

Ino blinked and looked at Sakura as best as she could, raising an eyebrow. "I'll think about it, Forehead. My hair stays out of my face when it's in a ponytail," She pointed out, absently resting her hands on top of Sakura's.

"I think you look so much better with it down, though," Sakura sighed, opened her eyes when she felt Ino tense and pull away from her. "Ino?"

"Um...Sorry, Sakura, but I have to go...Just...stop by my house sometime tomorrow, I don't have to work. I'll tell you if I found my swimsuit or not," Ino stammered and, with one last muttered 'bye', she had disappeared because of the several trees she had jogged by.

Sakura groaned and smacked her face, looking up at the sky. That hadn't been the best thing to do, apparently.

_Damn it, did I just scare her away?_

* * *

I know, this was originally just going to be a oneshot. Well, the oneshot was going to be just the first step and this one didn't even exist. This isn't so much a story as it is a series of oneshots centered on how the relationship between Ino and Sakura keeps growing.

Anyway, feel free to point out any mistakes I may have made. Also, if you want to see them have an argument, a specific romantic moment, or anything, just say something. I do love to have more ideas. You can obviously tell that I got bored with this chapter (yeah, no ideas) near the end, since it's so hurried. Sorry, bad habit of mine.

- Flower Cynic


	3. Step Three: On The Beach

Special thanks to **FiReWoRxXoX **for the lovely review. I appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura let out a long but quiet breath, glancing up from her book when the phone rang. She had just been laying on her bed practically all day, too worried about going over to Ino's to ask if she had found her swimsuit. The worry came from the fact that Ino had basically run away from her yesterday. It wasn't the best feeling in the world to get.

"Sakura speaking," The pink-haired girl said after sliding off the bed and picking up the phone. "Who is this?" She examined her nails with a frown, wondering who could possibly be calling her at the moment.

"Naruto," The voice on the other end answered. "How did it go with Ino yesterday?" He asked before Sakura had any time to ask why he could be calling. His tone practically screamed eagerness.

Sakura stared ahead of her, her mouth changing to a hard, thin line. "I think I scared her away," She sighed, closing her eyes. _Okay, Naruto, what could you say to cheer me up this time?_

Naruto stayed silent for a few moments, like he was thinking carefully about either what he was going to say next or what he was going to do. "Oh, I have an idea!" He said happily. "Let's get everyone together and have a sort of party thing!"

Smiling slightly, Sakura twisted the cord of the phone around her finger. "Hey, we can all go swimming. Like, to the beach," She suggested, laughing lightly when Naruto exclaimed 'Yes!' right away.

"I'm gonna get Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino to come to. Sakura, you gotta try again! I mean, if she really didn't notice you when you were wearing those shorts, she definitely is in a swimsuit!" Naruto encouraged the pinkette persistantly. "I think you're exaggerating when you say she ran away. Maybe she just needed to go?"

"Naruto, she forgot the elastic that goes in her hair," Sakura said, casting a glance at the aforementioned elastic sitting on her dresser. "If she needed to go, she wouldn't have been in a big enough hurry to forget that."

"Either way, you're gonna get your chance to try again. 'Kay, I'm gonna go give Shikamaru a call, and he can bring Chouji and Ino along with him. Should I invite Kiba's and Lee's teams?" He asked.

Sakura clicked her teeth together. "Maybe some other time. I doubt Neji would want to come, Lee likes me, and Hinata would probably have a heart attack," She pointed out, feeling guilty that she had told Naruto to basically forget about inviting them.

"Ah. And we don't need Lee following you around when you're trying your luck with Ino," Naruto said, obviously understanding the reasoning behind Sakura's excuse for Lee not coming. "Alright. So head on down to the beach with your stuff and I'll call Shikamaru."

Sakura nodded, a small smile still on her face. "Got it. Thanks," She said gratefully before ending the call, setting it down on the table that was in the corner of her room. With her smile growing in size the more she thought about what would happen at the beach, Sakura walked to her dresser, opening up each drawer in turn until she found her two-piece swimsuit.

"Swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, sunglasses..." Sakura muttered her list out loud, finding each item after she said it's name. _I hope Ino does come. We were supposed to go swimming today, but...I don't think she would have come if it was just me. Maybe, maybe not..._

Sakura placed her things on the bed, trying to decide if she had forgotten anything or not. _Jeez, I forgot about Shikamaru and Chouji! Hopefully Naruto can keep their attention focussed on him while I talk to Ino. This is gonna be harder than I thought._

* * *

The beach was relatively deserted. There were a few people down by one end of the beach, so Sakura went as far away from them as she could without going into a bad spot, like where there was too much shade or too much sun instead of being about even. That was the kind of spot Sakura had in mind when she settled down on the sand, laying out her towel and taking a seat on it to wait for the four other people she was expecting.

Just as she thought, Naruto arrived first, already in his trunks. He actually had a pail with a shovel in it in one hand, much to her amusement, and a towel gripped firmly in his other one. At first he looked confused when he didn't see Sakura right away, but after a few moments of waving on Sakura's part, Naruto saw her out of the corner of his eye and hurried over to her.

"It took some time to convince him," Naruto started, taking a seat next to Sakura and carefully moving her shirt and pants so that he didn't sit on them. Sakura had taken them off not too long ago, since her swimsuit was already on underneath it. "But I managed to get Shikamaru to come to the beach and bring Ino and Chouji along with him."

"Thanks again, Naruto," Sakura nodded to the blonde boy before turning her head to look out to the water that she was still several feet away from. "I'm kinda nervous. I'm not sure what she thinks of me right now," She muttered with a small frown.

Naruto nudged her with his shoulder, offering her a broad grin. "Hey, don't worry about it! I think you're gonna make some progress today. You just gotta really focus on your goal." He turned his attention away from Sakura when the pinkette nodded to acknowledge that she heard him, watching for Team Ten.

"I'm sure it would be so much easier if Shikamaru and Chouji weren't coming as well. But I can't be too selfish," Sakura smiled slightly and joined Naruto in looking up the beach, keeping her eyes open for the three people who had yet to arrive.

It took about five minutes, but Shikamaru and his teammates finally showed up. Ino actually had her palms pressed to Shikamaru's back, pushing him as she walked so he didn't fall behind. Chouji was keeping up well with the irritated blonde, happily munching on a bag of chips.

"Heeey Shikamaru!" Naruto called, standing up and waving to get Shikamaru's attention off the ground and on himself. "You finally made it! I hope you brought your swimmin' gear!"

"You wish, Naruto," Shikamaru grumbled, gesturing to Chouji, who raised his arm to show Naruto that he was carrying a large dufflebag. "No, I didn't bring my 'swimming gear'. I only brought what I needed," He turned back to Naruto and walked past him without Ino's help, his teammates following in a line after him.

Sakura watched as Chouji unzipped the dufflebag and pulled out another similar-looking bag, taking a folded up chair out of that one and placing it by Sakura's towel. Chouji stepped to the side as Shikamaru all but collapsed in his chair, letting Ino dig around in the bag until she found her towel.

"I'm gonna go over there so I'm in the sun, guys," Ino announced, nodding to a spot that was several feet away from where she was now. As soon as she had turned her back on everyone and was walking away from them, Naruto turned his head to look at Sakura and gestured wildly towards Ino, luckily in a spot where Chouji and Shikamaru couldn't see him.

Sakura hesitated for a moment before grabbing her towel, sunscreen, and sunglasses and jogging after the blonde. "I'm coming too," She said, slowing down to a walk when she was beside Ino.

The blonde simply nodded, silently saying that she knew Sakura was there, before stopping at a particularly sunny spot. She grabbed the edges of her towel and laid it on the ground, turning to look at Sakura. "Didn't know you didn't just want me here," She smiled, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it up and over her head.

"Well..." Sakura cleared her throat, watching Ino's chest absently until the blonde's shirt was over her head and no longer blocking her view of the pinkette. Definitely a bikini, and a purple one at that. "It would have been rude to not ask Naruto and your team, wouldn't it?"

Ino shed her shorts rather quickly, taking a seat on her towel as Sakura started to lay out her's beside the blonde. She grinned, looking slyly at Sakura. "Yeah, whatever. Is it still being rude if you just left them over there?"

Glancing over at the three boys, who were trying to get Shikamaru out of his chair, Sakura smirked. "Someone had to keep you company, and unfortunately for me, I'm that person," She sighed and reached towards the end of her towel, taking both her sunglasses and sunscreen in her hands. She slid her sunglasses on and opened up the bottle of sunscreen.

"Whatever, you just wanted to bask in my glow." Ino cast a glance towards Sakura's sunscreen that she was now rubbing over her arms. "Oh man, I forgot mine! Can I have some of your's?"

Sakura opened her mouth, preparing to say 'yes', but closed her mouth again when she actually thought about it. She could use this to her advantage. "I dunno, Pig...I think I should let you go crispy. Like bacon." Grinning at the offended look on Ino's face, Sakura raised her arm high in the air and pointing it away from the blonde so that her former best friend couldn't get it.

Ino scoffed and moved slightly, reaching in front of Sakura to try and get the sunscreen. "But my skin'll be all burnt! It'll be all red and sensitive!" She whined, frowning when Sakura still didn't take pity on her.

"Well, at least I won't. You'll probably use up the whole bottle before I can even finish," Sakura held Ino back with her free hand, still keeping the bottle of sunscreen out of the blonde's reach. "Besides, it's your own fault you forgot your sunscreen."

"Sakuraaa!" Ino drawled, settling for sitting and glaring at the pinkette. "Let me have it!" She huffed, narrowing her eyes with displeasure.

Sakura simply grinned and snickered at the blonde. However, that quickly stopped when she was suddenly pushed onto her back, her eyes snapping open with surprise. Nonetheless, she still determinedly kept her sunscreen away from Ino.

The blonde grinned slyly and crawled forward, subtly casting a glance over her shoulder to see if any of the three boys were watching. While Naruto was suspiciously looking with sudden interest to the far right of them, Chouji still seemed busy with Shikamaru, while the aforementioned lazy ninja looked like he was asleep in his chair.

"Sakuraaa..." Ino dragged out the last syllable of Sakura's name again, this time much quieter. She paused, straddling Sakura's hips with her back arched slightly and her face dangerously close to Sakura's own face.

With wide eyes, Sakura gazed up at Ino with shock. And here she was, thinking that she had scared Ino off. "U-Uh, Ino..." She stammered, her eyes closing steadily the closer Ino leaned in. As soon as her eyes were shut, she felt the bottle of sunscreen being snatched out of her hands.

"Got it," Was what Sakura heard just before the weight on her hips disappeared, followed by a girly giggle. Sakura sat up, a blush showing noticeably on her face. She simply glared at Ino as the Yamanaka rubbed some sunscreen on her arms, still grinning.

_I am SO never gonna forget that. _Sakura stood with a small grunt, lunging for her precious sunscreen. "Hey, gimme back my stuff! Last chance!" She pointed threateningly at Ino, smirking deviously when the blonde looked challengingly at her as she squirted more sunscreen into her hands, momentarily setting the bottle down by her foot as she rubbed some on her stomach.

"That's it!" Sakura darted forward and, before Ino had time to register what had happened, picked the blonde up. She sprinted off towards the water, focussing more chakra into the muscles in her arms the more Ino thrashed about in her grip. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Naruto and Chouji watching her. Even Shikamaru looked like he had one eye open.

Sakura ran until she knew that if she ran any further, the water would slow her down. As soon as she stopped, she tossed Ino into the air a few feet in front of her, laughing at the rather loud, echoing scream that she heard just before the large splash.

"I told you it was your last chance, Pig!" Sakura giggled, watched Chouji and Naruto jog towards her out of the corner of her eye. "You so should have seen your face! Priceless!"

Ino slowly rose above the surface again, glaring up a storm at Sakura, then at Chouji and Naruto when they started snickering. Scoffing and rolling her eyes at the three laughing people, the blonde reached behind her and pulled the elastic that she had found that morning out of her hair.

"I hope you're happy. My hair's all wet now," Ino whined, walking toward the shore with her head tilted up indignantly. She only huffed and pulled her wrist out of Sakura's grip when the pinkette grabbed it, continuing on to her towel.

"Oh, come on, Ino! It was funny!" Naruto told the lighter blonde haired girl, exchanging a look with Sakura that had her groaning on the inside. "And you probably had fun too, flyin' through the air like that."

Sakura shook her head at how childish her former best friend was before walking towards her own towel, taking a seat next to Ino. "Still want the sunscreen?" She asked, shaking the bottle as if that would entice Ino into taking it.

Ino narrowed her eyes and frowned, glaring at the bottle. "Forget that. This water just dripping off me'll keep me from burning up," She muttered, running her fingers through her hair several time to get rid of the waves in it that was caused from it being in a ponytail for so long.

"Hey, don't act like it's my fault. This wouldn't have happened if you had given me back my sunscreen when I told you it was your last chance," Sakura said defensively, though still smiled. "And you still look better with your hair down, even if it is wet," She added, fighting back a hesitant look. This had been what they had been talking about when Ino left her suddenly.

The blonde seemed to remember it as well, since she looked rather oddly at Sakura before smirking. "Nah, I tried out long hair before. It didn't work out as well as you make it sound."

"Oh yeah? Who'd you try it on?"

"...Neji..." Ino muttered, turning her mouth up slightly.

"Point proven!" Sakura grinned when Ino simply rolled her eyes. "Hey, come on. Can you do me a favor?" She asked and rolled over so that she was laying on her stomach, looking up hopefully at the blonde. "Can you put some sunscreen on my back?"

"I suppose so," Ino shrugged and grabbed the bottle of sunscreen from Sakura's hand, shifting so that she was kneeling to Sakura's left, right by her waist. She held her hand out and squirted some of the bottle's contents into her palm, setting the bottle down by her legs.

"Ah, cold!" Sakura automatically tried to move her back away from Ino's hands when they made contact with her back, clicking her teeth together. Smiling sheepishly, Sakura set her chin on her arms and sighed, shutting her eyes. She'd be lying if she told herself that she wasn't thinking about the fact that it was _Ino_ touching her back.

They remained silent for a few moments, and eventually Sakura cracked one eye open when she felt Ino's hand resting near the middle of her back. She subconsciously held her breath and stared at her arms, faintly wondering what Ino could possibly be thinking at the moment.

"Hey, Ino!"

Sakura immediatly shot her best glare at Chouji, though the chubby boy wouldn't be able to see it. The reason for this was that as soon as she heard her name being called, the blonde pulled her hand away and turned around to face her teammate curiously. _At least I'm not the only one annoyed..._ She thought after looking at an irritated Naruto.

"Are you comin' back over here? You can't just lay on the ground for the whole day!" Chouji asked, not noticing Naruto glaring at the back of his head, or how Shikamaru was now watching the two girls with one eyebrow raised. That particular look made Sakura rather nervous.

"Watch me!" Ino grinned and laid back down on her towel, making a big show about getting comfortable. She turned her head to look at Sakura after a few moments, still smiling.

Sakura shook her head with amusement at Ino, happy that the blonde wasn't going to just ditch her for Chouji, Naruto, and Shikamaru. "You do know I'm not going to let you lay here all day, right?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course," Ino nodded, running her fingers through her hair before playing boredly with the elastic that she had put around her wrist so she didn't lose it. "That doesn't mean I'm going to move from this spot, though."

Sakura only grinned at her.

* * *

The pinkette smirked, inwardly glad that she had another excuse to actually touch Ino. She was currently carrying a pouting Ino towards Naruto, Chouji, and Shikamaru, though only Naruto seemed to have noticed her when she started walking over there with the blonde.

"I didn't think you'd really do this. Wouldn't it have been easier to just get them over where I was laying?"

"That would mean that you wouldn't have to move. At least this way you aren't stuck in the same spot for the whole time that we're here." Sakura adjusted her grip on the blonde, still focussing her chakra to her arms in order to be able to lift Ino without much difficulty.

Even though Sakura liked having time with Ino and nobody else, she still didn't want either Chouji or Shikamaru to get suspicious of her. That was the last thing she needed at the moment.

Naruto grinned and watched Sakura approaching him and the two boys of Team Ten with Ino in her arms. "Wow, Sakura, did something happen while you two were over there that we should know about?" He asked playfully, immediatly catching Chouji's attention. Shikamaru had a more delayed response.

While Sakura's face went red and she narrowed her eyes at Naruto, Ino simply smirked and uncrossed her arms, wrapping them around the pink-haired girl's neck and resting the side of her head against Sakura's shoulder. "Oh yeah, we totally just hit it off over there."

Sakura nearly dropped the blonde right there, but instead she decided to simply tighten her grip on the taller girl with surprise. After a few moments of Chouji staring at them with amusement, obviously used to the way Ino acted, and of Naruto grinning slyly, she decided to play along and smirked.

"Oh yeah, this one can do wonders with her fingers." Sakura carefully moved her left arm slightly so that she could stroke Ino's bare thigh without dropping the blonde. She couldn't help but cast Naruto a quick, giddy look before looking back down at Ino.

"Mhm, and this mouth is to _die_ for," Ino purred, touching Sakura's lips with her index finger and dragging it down slowly, touching her chin, then along the front of her neck.

"Soo...Do I say Sakura Yamanaka now, or Ino Haruno?" Naruto asked in that same playful tone, getting the reponse that he expected from the two girls.

Ino choked on her spit and unwrapped her arms from around Sakura's neck, dropping onto the ground back-first when Sakura took her arms out from under her. Sakura was stammering, staring at Naruto with wide eyes.

"We were just joking!" Ino said defensively, sitting up slowly in order to rub her sore back. She glared up grumpily at Sakura. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Sorry," Sakura apologized after snapping herself out of her stupor. She frowned and walked away from Ino and Chouji, grabbing Naruto's arm and dragging him away from the other three people with them in order to talk to him in private.

"Naruto! I thought you were on my side!" Sakura whispered furiously, glaring at the blonde boy.

The aforementioned ramen-lover winced at the death grip that his arm was in. Before actually replying, he worked on freeing his arm, rubbing it when he finally managed to do was he was attempting. "I am! I had to somehow draw attention away from the look on her face, or at least change it!"

Sakura blinked, sighing reluctantly when she realized that she probably did have a certain look on her face a few seconds ago that nobody on Team Ten should have seen. So, Naruto had done her a favour. "I'm sorry. Well, you really did a great job with changing the look on my face. I really wasn't expecting that."

Naruto grinned broadly, letting his arm fall back to his side. "Besides, it was kinda funny when you dropped Ino."

"Shut up, that was all your fault."

* * *

Sakura smiled slightly and stretched her arms high above her head, sighing with relief when she heard them crack. "That was fun. We should do that again some time," She said, absently smoothing out her shirt. They were currently walking away from the beach. They had already dropped Naruto and Chouji off at their houses, and her own house was coming up soon.

"Ehh...The beach isn't really my thing," Shikamaru shrugged, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes half-closed. He frowned when Ino scoffed and rolled her eyes at him, turning his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing's 'your thing', Shika," Ino told him, laughing when he simply grunted and looked ahead of them again. She looked at the pinkette, flicking the part of her hair that hung in front of her face away so that she could see her childhood best friend. She had put her hair back up in a ponytail just before they left the beach.

"That's a good idea, Forehead. If we're lucky, maybe we'll hit it off again right away," The blonde winked, laughing when she saw a bit of red appear on Sakura's cheeks. "Just messin' with ya'. Is this your house right here?" She paused and nodded towards the house she had stopped in front of, glancing at the pinkette.

Sakura nodded, looking at her house once before casting a smile back at Ino and Shikamaru, though more so at Ino, since Shikamaru was still walking further and further away from the two girls. "Yeah, this is where I leave you two. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, already starting to walk towards her front door.

Ino nodded, staying in front of Sakura's house. "Maybe, maybe not," She answered mysteriously, smirking when Sakura looked at her with amusement. "Seeya, Forehead."

"Seeya 'round, Pig," Sakura called. The last thing she saw before disappearing into her house was Ino looking over her shoulder at her as she caught up to Shikamaru, waving at the pinkette with a large grin on her face.

* * *

Alright, I blame the late update on getting a new game that I finished yesterday and running out of ideas for this chapter. Yeahh. Anyway, I was thinking about Ino sleeping over at Sakura's house either in the next chapter or the one after that...And that's really the only idea I have at the moment.

Honestly, I think I could have done better with this chapter, but I'm just too lazy to go back and practically rewrite it. Oh well, better than nothing, right?

- Flower Cynic


	4. Step Four: Sleepover Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

"You made progress!"

"I hope so," Sakura rubbed her forehead and stared up at the ceiling, arms laying straight out by her sides and feet hanging off the end of the bed. She cast a glance towards Naruto, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, do you really think so?" She asked, sitting up so that she could look at her friend better.

The blonde boy nodded enthusiastically, flashing the pinkette one of his grins. "Of course! I'm not blind, I saw her feelin' up your back," He said smugly, only grinning broader when Sakura blushed. "See? Even you know she was feelin' you up!"

"Yeah, if only Chouji hadn't totally ruined it," Sakura grumbled and crossed her legs, an annoyed look flashing across her face before being replaced by an obviously bored one. "I mean, if he hadn't called for Ino, then...Well, I'd probably have made even more progress than I made yesterday!" She sighed with exasperation.

"Well-"

Both of the people in the room jumped with surprise when the phone suddenly started ringing, but only Sakura moved to get it. "Maybe being called is lucky. I mean, the last time I was called it was you, and I made progress because of the beach day you set up," She told Naruto before picking up the phone and pressing it to her ear. "Sakura speaking."

"Hiya, Forehead," The voice on the other end greeted.

"Hey, _Ino_," Sakura put emphasis on the blonde's name and looked directly at Naruto, who grinned and made gestures to try and encourage her. "Is there something you need?" She asked and ran her fingers through her hair, blinking with amusement as Naruto continued to urge her on.

"Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to come over and maybe have a sleepover?" Ino suggested, deciding not to comment on the fact that Sakura had emphasized her name.

"Oh, I'd love to. When do you want me to come over?" The pinkette asked, grinning happily at Naruto when the boy pumped his fist into the air victoriously.

"Any time is fine with me."

"Ah, alright. I'll come over in about an hour or two, 'kay?" Sakura asked, looking at her alarm clock for the time. Wow, it was already three in the afternoon? She blinked, mentally going over a schedule in her head. If she went over to Ino's at four thirty, she'd have enough time to just hang out with Ino before they got into any actual sleepover activities.

"Okay. Seeya later." With that, the call had ended, as did how calm Sakura had forced herself to be. She grinned broadly and practically bowled Naruto over when she hugged him tightly.

"Haha! She asked to have a sleepover at her house! Know what that means?" Sakura let go of Naruto and raced towards her dresser in search of some pajamas to wear at Ino's house.

"You get yet another chance?" Naruto asked, carefully avoiding a pajama shirt when it came flying towards his face. When he had to avoid yet another thing, the blonde boy simply stood up and moved away from the bed.

"I get to sleep with her!" Sakura paused when she heard Naruto snicker, turning to glare at him. "You know what I meant," She looked threateningly at Naruto when an expression crossed his face that showed that he was obviously thinking x-rated things. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

Naruto only laughed more, willing himself to stop laughing when Sakura continued to scowl at him. He stayed silent for a few minutes, watching as Sakura gradually turned back to her dresser and searched for something to wear. "...I'm sure you don't want anyone else to even _think _about how your precious Ino-pig looks naked..." He drawled.

Sakura immediatly turned around swiftly and stormed over to him, smacking him rather hard against the head and making him fall to the ground. "Got that right! So stop it!" She nudged him with her foot threateningly to prove her point before marching towards the sleepwear she had picked out and thrown onto her bed, red in the face.

The blonde boy grinned despite his sore head, sitting up and looking at Sakura. "Well, good luck, anyway," He spoke, silently glad that Sakura wasn't still hurting him for picturing her 'precious Ino-pig' like that.

Sakura waved him off, placing her pajamas neatly in a backpack. "Luck's got nothing on me."

* * *

Ino frowned, rolling her eyes as her parents continued to list off what she couldn't do, repeat how she could contact them, and that if she needed anything and they couldn't get there in time to go over to the Nara household and get something off of Shikamaru. She put her hands neatly on her hips, looking sternly up at her father, then her mother, and back again.

"Okay, I got it!" The blonde threw her arms up in the air with exasperation, though smiled at how concerned her parents could be for her. "This isn't any different from every other time you've gone out and I stayed at the house. The only difference is that Sakura's coming over. Now go out and have a good time like you always do, 'kay?" She pushed her parents towards the front door.

"We will. There's money on the table if you get hungry, alright? Bye!" Inoichi managed to grab his coat on the way out. Ino had pushed him out after her mother, shutting the door quickly after he was out of the house.

Ino breathed a sigh of relief before moving towards the living room, collapsing onto the couch. After a few moments, she tilted her head back so that she was looking at the front door upside down, blinking slowly. Did someone just knock on the door? Already? That was fast. She waited a few more moments, smiling when she found that yes, there was someone knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Ino called, tilting her head back down so that she was looking away from the door again.

The front door swung open, revealing an out-of-breath Sakura. After she caught her breath, the pinkette took her shoes off and set them neatly by Ino's, closing the door with her hip. She walked into the living room, where she could see Ino's head over the arm rest. "Hey, Ino-pig."

Ino waved a greeting back to Sakura, turning her head to gaze at Sakura with concentration. _Seems like she was in a hurry to get here, since I doubt she's that out of shape. Hm.  
_

"Ino. Heeey, Ino," Sakura called, waving her hand in front of the distracted blonde's face a few times. "You okay? You kinda spaced out on me for a few seconds," She pointed out, taking a seat on the other end of the couch that Ino was laying on.

The blonde shook her head and smiled, resting her elbows on the arm rest that she was leaning against. "Nah, I'm fine. The sight of your huge forehead tends to put people in a daze," She gestured to Sakura's forehead.

Sakura huffed and shoved Ino's leg. "Everyone loves my forehead," She retorted, grinning when Ino rolled her eyes. She blinked with surprise when Ino moved her legs so that her feet were resting on the pinkette's lap, making a big show of trying to get comfortable.

"Mhm, 'cause your forehead is so sexy," Ino sighed and closed her eyes, taking on a rather relaxed look. "Well, what can we do first? My parents probably won't be home until really early tomorrow, so we have all the time in the world for a ton of things. Any ideas?"

Sakura smirked and struck her best pose while she was sitting, winking at the blonde. "It's so kissable," She rested her hands on Ino's knees, absently playing with the blonde's knee-length shorts. "Well, we could always order in. I passed your parents and your dad told me that, in case you tried to hide it from me, there was money for us in case we got hungry."

Ino clicked her teeth together and grinned with amusement at her parents' behaviour. "Good idea. Pass me the phone?" She asked, gesturing to the table by the couch, where the phone was on the side that was farthest from her and closest to Sakura.

Passing Ino the phone, Sakura watched quietly as the blonde dialed the appropriate number and held the phone up to her ear. She took this opportunity to silently stare at Ino's legs while her former best friend wasn't paying attention.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to order a medium pepperoni pizza," Ino spoke into the phone, examining her nails boredly with a frown. "I'd also like a grape Crush pop and..." She trailed off, looking questioningly at the pinkette.

"Just a Sprite," Sakura whispered, silently breathing a sigh of relief that she had caught Ino turning her head to look at her out of the corner of her eye, so she had stopped staring at the blonde's legs just in time.

Ino nodded, focussing on the phone again. "And a Sprite," She repeated, pausing for a few moments as her order was told back to her. "Yeah, that's it. But..." She paused for dramatic effect, then with all the seriousness she could muster, "are you familiar with the term 'spanking a pizza'?"

That struck Sakura's funny bone right away, since she had to turn her head away from Ino so that the person over the phone couldn't here her laughing. It was more the fact that Ino could say it so seriously and not even smile than what she actually said.

"Mhm, it's the act of pressing down firmly and suddenly on a pizza, therefore making it thinner," Ino explained, running her fingers through her hair in calming motions so that she could keep a straight face, which was growing increasingly hard the more she watched Sakura giggle.

The blonde recited her address before ending the call, setting the phone on the table with a grin. "I'm guessing you liked that last little bit?" She asked after Sakura turned back to her, a hand over her mouth to stifle any other giggles.

"'Spanking a pizza'? D'you think they'll actually do it?" Sakura laughed, casually moving her hands away from Ino's knees so that she didn't draw attention to them.

Ino shrugged. "Doubt it, but it'd be so cool if they actually did," She replied before resting against the arm rest again. "They said it'll take about thirty minutes. What should we do until then?"

"How about we ask each other questions, but we both have to answer each question?" Sakura suggested, narrowing her eyes slightly with determination. She could either go somewhere with this or completely miss what she was going for a risk possibly making it awkward between the two of them. Was it really worth it?"

"Fine with me, but I go first." Ino stayed silent for a few moments, contemplating what her question would be. "Have you ever kissed anyone on your team?"

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, silently happy that the question wouldn't be painfully hard to answer. "Nope, can't say I have. Naruto's more like a brother to me, anyway."

The blonde nodded, tilting her head back to stare at the ceiling. "I kissed Shikamaru. A few times, actually." Ino waved dismissively at the topic, closing her eyes. "You're turn."

Frowning, Sakura forced a pang of jealousy to the back of her mind, trying to pick out a question. She was chickening out of asking what she wanted to at the moment, unfortunately. "If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?"

"My name," Ino answered immediatly with a frown, looking back down at Sakura. "You?"

"I like your name," Sakura admitted, blinking slowly. "And I'd obviously change my forehead," She added, gesturing to her own forehead. Raising an eyebrow, Sakura watched curiously as Ino scoffed and sat up, moving so that she was sitting beside Sakura.

The blonde gently pressed her index finger to the middle of Sakura's forehead. "Nonsense. You wouldn't be the Sakura that everyone knows without this. Besides, what happened to your forehead being so kissable?" She asked, her gaze moving from Sakura's forehead in favour of making eye contact with the older girl.

_Now's your chance, Sakura! Do it! Do it now!_ Sakura pouted unhappily, crossing her arms over her chest with displeasure. "Kissable means that people want to kiss it. You don't want to," She pointed out, anxiously tapping the fingers on her right hand on her left arm.

Ino smiled broadly. "Is that all?" She asked, leaning forward and delivering a quick peck to Sakura's forehead. She pulled back, looking at Sakura's red face with amusement. "Feel better?"

"Much," Sakura mumbled, silently willing away the blush on her face. Okay, so she hadn't thought that Ino would actually do that, but now she was thankful that she had a slightly larger forehead. It came in handy in situations like this.

"Good to know," Ino nodded and set her hands on her lap, rolling her eyes slightly as she tried to think of another question. "Hmm...Oh! Who was your first kiss? Mine was the son of my dad's friend's brother. Can't remember his name now, it's been so long," Ino laughed sheepishly before looking intently at Sakura.

Sakura's blush came back full-force when she heard the question. "Um...Ino, I kinda..." She trailed off, suddenly finding her lap very interesting. "That is to say...I haven't..."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Ino's eyes widened slightly, looking with surprise at the pinkette. "You haven't kissed anyone yet? At your age?" She asked incredulously, unintentionally causing Sakura more embarrassment.

Sakura held her hands up in front of her face. _For that, I am SO going to ask her the question that's been bugging me! I hope it embarrasses her so much! _She glared at Ino through her fingers, though was silently happy that the blonde hadn't started laughing at her like she thought she would have.

"No, I haven't," Sakura confirmed after a deep breath, eventually letting her hands fall from her face. She spent a few moments just glaring at Ino, watching a slow grin start to spread along the younger girl's face. Oh, she'd wipe that grin off her face, alright.

"Okay, my turn. What's your sexuality?" Sakura said hurriedly, staring hard at Ino, who looked shocked for a few moments. They stayed in that position for about half of a minute, just staring at each other, before Ino started giggling.

"Oh my God, Sakura, I can't believe you just asked me that!" The blonde shook her head with a large grin. She resembled the cat that ate the canary. "You know the answer to that."

"No, I don't. That's why I asked it," Sakura pointed out, an irritated look on her face. So, she had just made Ino laugh at her instead of having the effect on the blonde that she had hoped.

"Think about it for a few minutes."

"Damn it, Ino, stop avoiding the question and just answer it already!"

Ino laughed at how easily she could annoy Sakura before leaning back against the arm rest. "I figured you'd know. Shika knows, Chouji knows, my parents know..." She paused thoughtfully. "That just goes to show tha I can trust them all to keep a secret if nobody else knows but it."

"Ino..." Sakura said in a warning tone. She was trying so hard to not let Ino get her hopes up, but her attempts weren't working. If Ino was misleading her, the blonde would be in for some serious trouble. "Just tell me. Please?"

"Alright. I'm bi," Ino stated evenly, sounding rather confident. However, that confidence soon started to disappear the more that Sakura remained silent. "Um...Forehead?"

No answer. Just a pair of shocked bright green eyes staring directly at her.

"Sakura, please...I'm sorry, I really shouldn't have answered that, it's gonna make things all weird between us now, and we were starting up our friendship again. If I hadn't opened my-" Ino was cut off by Sakura lunging at her, yelping as she fell to the ground. Sakura remained on top of her, glaring down at her.

"Ino! Why didn't you ever tell me this?" Sakura huffed, looking rather offended that she hadn't been informed of this. She held Ino's shoulders tightly, intent on not letting the blonde up.

"Well, it's not that big of a deal, and I've only known this for two years..." Ino said shyly, trying to shrink back from Sakura. "Like I said, I thought you'd have figured it out. At the beach, would I have done such a thing if I was completely straight?" She asked, obviously referring to when she had been carried by Sakura and Naruto had asked if there had been something that had happened that he should know about.

"...I guess not," Sakura shrugged sheepishly, sighing at how she hadn't been able to figure that one out. She stood up, stepping over Ino in time to hear someone knocking at the door. "Pizza's here!" She clapped, moving to get the door, but stopped when she felt fingers wrap around her calf. Looking down, Sakura raised an eyebrow at Ino, unable to hide her happy little smile.

After eyeing the smile on Sakura's face for a moment, Ino cleared her throat and looked sternly at Sakura. "You aren't getting away that easily. Remember, we both have to answer each question."

Sakura grinned. Now that she knew that Ino was at least the slightest bit attracted to girls, she was more confident about telling the blonde than before. "I'm in the same boat as you, Pig," She told her former best friend before shaking her leg to get Ino to let go. She moved towards the door with a large smile on her face.

_Am I lucky or what? I _so_ have to tell Naruto about this! _Sakura's smile changed to more of a smirk at the memory of Naruto saying that she didn't want anyone to even think about how Ino looked naked, unless it was her. _Hey, maybe now I have an excuse to sneak a peek. Maybe I can convince Ino to give me a chance, too..._

* * *

Well, that was the rushed Step Four. Yes, I don't plan on drawing this story out, as you can see. Honestly, I'm surprised I held out on this one until the fourth chapter.

Anyway, not much to say here. Sorry for the long wait, I was struck with a block whenever I tried to do this chapter. Then, in one day, I went from 300 words to this thing I have here. Pretty cool, huh? Oh, thanks to those who reviewed. Those always make me smile, especially the ones that compliment me. I'm flattered. I really didn't think anyone would really like this story.

- Flower Cynic


	5. Step Five: Sleepover Part Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Obviously.

* * *

"I still can't believe they actually did it."

"Yeah, the pizza sure was thinner."

Sakura grinned and rubbed her stomach absently, watching as Ino came back from the kitchen after shoving the leftover pizza in the fridge. At the moment, she was resting against the arm rest that Ino had been laying against when she had first arrived while Ino had seated herself on the other end of the couch, her legs stretched out along the length of the couch.

The pinkette turned her head slightly, blinking at Ino's legs, which were between the back of the couch and her hip. _How should I go about doing this? Just...take what I know her approach would be? This is so...confusing..._

"Do you have some fascination with my legs or somethin'?" Ino questioned, raising an eyebrow when Sakura hurriedly looked back up at her face. "I mean, I don't blame ya'. They're gorgeous," She grinned and bent her knees, moving her legs closer to her so that she could run her hands along the whole length of both of them.

Sakura resisted the urge to grin back, deciding to tease the blonde. "Ehh, I've seen better," She shrugged, forcing a look of indifference and boredom on her face when Ino huffed and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh? Who's got better legs than me?" Ino questioned, her frowning twisted back into a smirk when Sakura didn't answer her for a few moments. "Hah! You can't think of anyone! I knew it!"

"I can so!" Sakura shot back, smiling brightly after Ino raised an eyebrow curiously at her. "...Me," She clarified, gesturing to her own legs. "The only thing sexier than my forehead."

"You wish!" Ino scoffed and rolled her eyes at the pinkette. "Regardless of what you say, I'm _way_ sexier than your forehead," She added, flicking her hair out of her face with a smile. It was amusing to go back and forth with Sakura like she was at the moment, as it had always been.

"I don't wish, I know." Sakura stood and wandered over to the TV, mentally groaning at how cliché she was about to be. She was also inwardly cheering at how clever she was, though.

"Forehead, what're you doing?" The blonde moved from the couch and peered over Sakura's shoulder to see her former best friend skimming through what she could identify as her parents' horror movies. She wouldn't even buy them in the first place.

"Looking for a movie to watch." Sakura smiled, finally picking one out from the pile of about seven or eight. She side-stepped to the TV again, watching Ino out of the corner of her eye.

The blonde had a cross between a worried expression and a scared expression on her face, watching as Sakura put the movie in and grabbed the remote from the table. "Um, Sakura...Can't we pick a different movie? You know how I feel about horror movies..."

"You can always use me like a protective teddy bear, Ino-pig," Sakura said, taking a few steps away from the TV as she prepared to play the movie. At least the large grin she was wearing on the inside was reduced to a smile on the outside instead of remaining a huge grin.

Ino frowned, dropping back to the couch with a huff. "As if I'd be _that _scared," She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. However, she did keep close to Sakura when the pinkette finally took a seat on the side of the couch that was straight across from the TV.

"I'm so sure," Sakura said under her breath, rolling her eyes she noticed Ino already looking prepared to flee into the kitchen at the first sign of a gory part. "Jeez, calm yourself down..."

"Easy for you to say, you probably watch these all the time," Ino muttered, already starting to inch closer to Sakura at the first sign of the sort of music in horror movies that tells you that something is coming.

They stayed quiet for about twenty minutes, just watching the movie, until Ino jumped in her seat and turned her head, hiding her face in Sakura's shoulder. In turn, the pinkette had protectively wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist, rubbing her back soothingly to help calm down the younger girl.

It was another half hour of jumping slightly before there was another strong reaction from Ino. This time, her hand flew to her neck instinctively when the killer in the movie happened to cut a girl's jugular vein. Her eyes were wide and her hand was completely covering her pulse point, which caught Sakura's attention after a few moments.

"Ino, it's just a movie..." Sakura whispered to the blonde. She did feel rather guilty that she was even the slightest bit amused by the Yamanaka's reactions. "C'mon, it's all just special effects. We've actually experienced worse things than this."

Ino reluctantly let her hand leave her neck, setting it on the arm that Sakura had wrapped around her waist. "Why do we need to watch the rest of this?" She asked quietly, wincing and hiding her face on another especially gory part.

"It's interesting, and I've never seen this one before."

"I'm going to have nightmares, I hope you know that."

Sakura shrugged and turned her attention back to the movie, though couldn't help but smile at the fact that she was actually serving as a sort of protective teddy bear for the slightly taller girl. The blonde had moved both of her arms from her lap to wrap tightly around her shoulders, making it easier to bury her face in said body part.

After ten more minutes of the movie, Sakura realized that even if she still had her eyes trained on the TV, her mind was really just registering the blonde beside her and not anything that happened in the movie. She noticed every time that Ino's eyes widened and she pressed against the back of the couch on certain parts, or when she winced and turned paler on others.

By the time the movie was done, Ino had Sakura's shoulders in a death grip, though she let go slowly when the pinkette slapped her hands lightly.

"I can't believe you weren't scared at all by that," Ino stood up and ran her hands over her hair, closing her and breathing deeply through her nose in an attempt to calm herself. "I can't believe I even sat through that..."

Sakura forced back a smile of amusement and stood up, grasping the other girl's wrists, moving them down so that Ino's arms were by her sides. "Hey, it's just a movie," She repeated what she had said earlier.

"I_ know,_" Ino frowned at the shorter girl, narrowing her eyes slightly. "It makes no difference. It's your fault I'm going to have nightmares, so you're going to be the one to protect me tonight," She told Sakura, scowling with annoyed confusion when Sakura grinned. "What?"

"You're cute when you're scared like this. Want me to be your teddy bear tonight, too?" Sakura hadn't exactly been thinking when she had said her first comment, but she wasn't about to take it back, and decided to roll with it. "Hm. Cute when you're scared, sexy when you're mad, and beautiful when you're anything else. It's not possible for you to be unattractive, is it?"

The blonde blinked with surprise, momentarily forgetting her fear at the moment. After a few moments of looking like this, a slow, steady blush began to spread across her face when her brain started to finally register what Sakura had said to her. "Well, I wouldn't quite say teddy bear..." She muttered, shyly looking down in a very Hinata-esque way. It was all she could do to avoid poking her index fingers together.

"Adorable when you're embarrassed, too," Sakura grinned happily at her blunt compliments as well as the fact that Ino did look quite adorable when she was embarrassed. She had just never realized this before since she hadn't seen Ino like that. "Whatever you say, Pig. I still can't believe you were scared by that..."

"It was a horrible, horrible movie!" Ino defended herself. "It hardly went ten minutes without a murder or gore of some kind!"

Sakura shook her head slightly and, since she was still gripping Ino's wrists, moved her thumbs so that they were pressing against the backs of Ino's hands. She rubbed them in circles soothingly to calm the blonde even the slightest bit. "Come on, let's go to bed now instead of staying up. You may have a panic attack if we do," She said after Ino jumped slightly at a noise she hadn't made.

Ino simply nodded in agreement and led Sakura down the hall, her eyes darting into every dark room that she could see on her way to her own room. "I hate you so much right now..."

"Love you too, Ino-pig," Sakura offered Ino a lopsided grin before turning into a room that she could remember as Ino's room from when they had been best friends. There was certainly more things in there that were expected to be in the room of a teenage girl, and the bed was pretty large now, but the whole style and colour of the room stayed the same. Mostly purple with a bit of pink.

Ino pulled away from Sakura and moved towards her dresser, opening up the second drawer. "Hey, you may wanna go get the bag you brought here. You forgot it by the couch," She said as she tugged her shirt off, letting it fall to the ground by her feet.

The pinkette stood there, staring, before actually sprinting out of the room, down the hall, and into the living room. _I absolutely cannot miss this!_ She circled the couch once in search of her bag. When she actually found it, she grabbed it quickly and rushed back to Ino's room in time to see the blonde shrugging off her bra after unclasping it.

_Turn around, turn around, turn around..._ Sakura silently begged in her head, forcing herself to look at the side of Ino's face when the blonde turned her head to look at the pinkette over her shoulder with surprise.

"That was fast," Ino pointed out before grinning. "You sure you aren't afraid to be out there alone?" She asked, turning back to her dresser. She stuck her hands in the drawer, fishing around for something to sleep in.

"You wish," Sakura forced out, trying to subtly move around Ino in a wide circle, if only to get a better view. Once again, what Naruto had said to her before she had started packing for this sleepover popped into her head, making her smirk to herself.

"Heeeey, Forehead, I'm not gonna wait for you to change if you aren't gonna do it while I am," Ino announced, having finally picked out something to sleep in. She put on her midriff-baring shirt first (much to Sakura's disappointment).

The pinkette shrugged, setting her bag on Ino's bed and opening it up to find her pajamas. Truthfully, she normally did sleep in a simple t-shirt and shorts, but she had decided to go with something a bit different for this occasion. She grinned when she found what she was looking for, setting her snug black shorts and matching black sports bra on the bed by her bag.

Ino pulled down her jean shorts and panties at the same time, stepping out of them and leaving them in a pile with her shirt and bra. She grabbed the cotton panties she had chosen, though just before she pulled them up, Sakura accidentally opened her mouth.

"Nice ass," Sakura pursed her lips, feeling blood rush to her face when she heard herself. Unfortunately, she knew Ino had heard her as well, since the blonde turned her head to look at her with surprise. It did come as a relief to her when Ino rolled her eyes with a smile, pulling them up all the way.

"No amount of compliments is going to make me forgive you for putting on that movie, Billboard Brow," Ino informed her, finally turning around completely to face Sakura. Both articles of clothing she was wearing had purple with a pink neckline in the shirt's case and a pink waist band in the panties' case. Across the shirt was 'Who Needs _Brains _When You Have _These' _in pink, and after a moment or two, Sakura noticed that something was written on the second piece of clothing in pink as well. 'All You Can Eat'. What a picture that left.

Sakura shrugged, trying to will away the mental images that were dominating her thoughts at the moment. She pulled off her shirt, followed quickly by her bra. Obviously she wasn't going to turn around like Ino had. It did please her when she looked at Ino to catch the blonde staring at her breasts. "Like what you see?"

"Hey, friend or not, you're still a hot piece of ass," Ino said, not showing any embarrassment to the fact that she had been caught staring. In fact, she made a big show of displaying her disappointment when Sakura put on her sports bra. "Just completely ruin the fun!"

"Would you rather me have slept without this?" Sakura asked, already in the process of pulling up her snug-fitting shorts. When Ino only shrugged, Sakura rolled her eyes and closed her bag back up, setting it on the ground. "C'mon, bed time. Might as well get the teddy bear role out of the way."

"Oh, shut up," Ino frowned and moved towards the bed, slipping in so that she was by the wall. Sakura crawled in beside her, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders.

"Good night, Ino-pig," Sakura smiled. She couldn't help but giggle quietly when Ino flipped around so that she was facing the pinkette and moved Sakura's arm so that it was wrapped around her waist.

"You are going to stop me from having breakdowns in my sleep," Ino told her rather than simply saying 'good night' in return. She blinked absently for a moment before hesitantly curling up into Sakura's side, resting her head on Sakura's shoulder.

The pinkette smiled happily. Somehow, though, she had always pictured doing this to Ino, since the blonde was taller than her, rather than the opposite. Nevertheless, she was content with this position. Hopefully Ino really didn't have any panic attacks or the like in her sleep. That would make her feel way too guilty.

* * *

"Sakura! Sakura, please, wake up!"

Groaning grumpily, the aforementioned kunoichi cracked her eyes open to glare tiredly at Ino, who had an absolutely terrified look on her face. "What is it...? What's wrong...?" She mumbled sleepily, trying to stay awake for the frightened blonde. It wasn't even light out yet!

Ino kept looking up from Sakura and towards the door, like she was expecting someone to walk through at any moment. "Someone's in the house!" She spoke in a hushed, urgent tone, sounding like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. "I heard them come in! Sakura, we're going to die!"

Sakura groaned once again, this time because Ino obviously wasn't thinking about this logically. "Ino, calm down and think about this..."

"Shh! Hear that?" Ino asked, her eyes widening at the sound of footsteps, which were steadily approaching her room. That was when the door swung open. Ino screamed, causing the man at the door to yell in surprise. It was like something out of a cartoon.

"Woah! Ino! Sweetie!" The man, who Sakura could tell was Ino's father just from the long ponytail and his voice, moved into the room and towards the platinum blonde on the bed, a guilty and worried look on his face.

Sakura frowned and sat up, wrapping her arms around the terrified girl. "Shh, Ino..." She cooed softly, rubbing the taller girl's back tenderly. "It's just your dad. It's alright, Ino, it's alright..."

"What's wrong? I heard screaming..." A platinum blonde woman, obviously Ino's mother, rushed into the room a moment later and actually beat Inoichi to the bed, taking a seat on the edge. "Ino, sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"I-I'm fine," Ino stammered, inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling through her mouth to try and calm herself. "Perfectly fine..."

Sakura gazed worriedly at the taller blonde before looking at Ino's parents, a determined expression on her face. "Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Yamanaka," She started, smiling at the memory of always calling them that when she was much younger, "I'll make sure she goes back to sleep. Peacefully."

For a moment, both of the older blondes looked hesitant, though finally (albeit reluctantly) left when Ino slowly nodded at them. "Just call us if you need anything, okay? I'll shut the door again..." Inoichi muttered, shutting the door behind him after Ino's mother left the room.

"Ino, I'm so sorry about putting on that movie. I didn't think it would scare you this much," Sakura apologized, still hugging Ino tightly. She buried her face in Ino's slightly frizzy hair when the blonde practically collapsed against her.

Ino shook her head slightly, thankful for the silence that passed between them. "No, I'm seventeen now. I shouldn't be afraid of those kinds of movies anymore," She mumbled, slowly opening her eyes and pulling back to look at Sakura.

"Your age makes no difference. You could be thirty-five and still be afraid of movies like that. I should have known better," Sakura insisted, still tenderly rubbing Ino's back.

"It's still my fault. I have to learn to grow up-"

"Ino! Let's just stop trying to blame ourselves!" Sakura said with an exasperated expression, which quickly turned to amusement at the sheepish look on the blonde's face. "It's not your fault and it's not my fault, deal?"

"Deal," Ino agreed with a small nod of her head. "So, you're gonna make sure I go back to sleep peacefully, huh?" She recalled what the pinkette had said earlier with a smirk while Sakura simply stuck her tongue out at her.

At this action, Ino unwrapped one arm from around the pinkette and set her index finger on the girls tongue, still smirking at the surprised look on her face. "Haven't you ever been told that it's dangerous to stick this thing out at people?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and quickly swiped her tongue around the part of Ino's index finger that she could reach, causing the blonde to pull back from surprise and make a face. "Serves you right for making me keep my mouth open like some moron," She huffed, playfully pushing Ino.

Ino stayed down on her back when she was pushed, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments absently before turning her head to look up at Sakura. "We gonna go back to sleep or what?" She asked, watching as Sakura shrugged sheepishly before laying down beside her.

"Hey Ino, we should do something tomorrow," Sakura spoke up after a few seconds of silence, turning her head at almost the same time as Ino did to look at the blonde. "Wanna come over to my house?"

Ino smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan," She mumbled sleepily, casually inching closer towards Sakura, which the pinkette didn't fail to notice.

"Ino, I'm flattered. If you wanted to cuddle with me all you had to do was ask," Sakura whispered. She grinned when Ino gave her a half-hearted glare, still smiling. Nevertheless, the pinkette wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, letting Ino snuggle up into her chest. Once again, she didn't fail to notice where Ino's hands were pressed against.

"Don't kid yourself. It's only that sexy forehead of your's that I want to be close to..." Ino murmured, sliding her eyes closed.

Sakura set her chin on top of Ino's head, closing her eyes as well. "Sweet dreams, Ino..."

* * *

Something was pressing against her hips, not that she was complaining. It had just disturbed her wonderful sleep, which she desperately needed after waking up in the middle of the night. Sakura groaned quietly, feeling around beside her for Ino. When she found that the blonde wasn't beside her, she opened her eyes with alarm.

Instead of seeing the ceiling like she had been expecting to, Sakura looked up right into a pair of cheerful teal eyes, not at all tired like she was feeling at them moment. Now, since she was far from stupid, Sakura figured out that Ino was the reason she had woken up. She groaned again and closed her eyes, turning her head to the right.

"Ino, I need my sleep," The pinkette grumbled, inwardly moaning (inside her head, of course) when Ino shifted slightly so that her bent legs were touching Sakura's sides, though she continued to straddle the pinkette's hips. "Not everyone is as hyped up as you are in the morning..."

The blonde grinned broadly and leaned forward until she was completely laying on Sakura so that from her feet to her chest was pressed against Sakura's identical body part. Since she had longer legs than Sakura, though, her feet weren't completely touching Sakura's feet. "But Saku, it's no fun being awake without someone to talk to!"

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the new nickname. What an obvious pet name for her. "Then go back to sleep," She sighed and turned her head back to face Ino, blinking her eyes open again to stare up at the now grinning face of the blonde.

"Or you could just splash some cold water on your face and talk to me," Ino suggested, bending both of her arms at the elbow and resting her fore-arms on Sakura's collar bone. She set her chin lightly on her arms, still smiling away.

Sakura recognized this side of Ino, remembering that she had encountered it at the flower shop and at the beach before this. "What do you want to talk about, anyway?" She asked groggily, narrowing her eyes slightly against the light coming in through the window that Ino was no longer blocking.

"Well...What do you want to talk about?"

"How about we talk about how absolutely distacting your shirt is when you're leaning forward enough for me to see down it?" Sakura grinned when Ino, surprised, looked down at her own shirt to find that the pinkette could, in fact, see down it quite easily.

"Hm, would you look at that," Ino shrugged indifferently and looked back at Sakura, smiling away like a happy toddler.

"I already have, thank you very much." Sakura gazed around for a clock, finally catching sight of Ino's alarm clock. Quarter after ten. "Hey, when should we head over to my house?"

"Maybe after you finally get your ass out of bed," Ino replied cheerfully, actually rolling off of Sakura instead of simply geting off her. She eventually stopped when she rolled into the wall that the bed was pressed against. "I really need to go shampoo my hair..." She drawled, sitting up and examining any part of her tangled hair that she could see.

"'Shampoo your hair'? You mean wash your hair," Sakura corrected, finally sitting up with a yawn. She slowly looked beside her when the blonde didn't say anything only to see Ino looked hopefully up at her with a large grin on her face. The pinkette rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I have to brush my teeth anyway."

Ino cheered happily before literally sliding off the bed, landing on her rear. She quickly jumped back up to her feet and jogged towards the side of the bed that Sakura was on, tugging on her friend's arm like an eager little puppy until Sakura finally grunted and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Ino, you are the very definition of a morning person..." Sakura muttered, following the blonde into the bathroom that was connected to her room. As soon as she got in there, she eyed her face in the mirror. It was all Ino's fault she looked this tired.

The Yamanaka shrugged and turned the taps, testing the water a few times until she got it as hot as she wanted it to be. "Want the shower after me?" She asked, casting Sakura a glance over her shoulder before turning back and tugging at the hem of her shirt.

Sakura nodded in confirmation. "Yeah. Mind if I use your cleaning crap?" She asked, trying to subtly get another look at Ino using the mirror. Unfortunately, Ino had her back facing her, so that plan really didn't work.

"Nope, go ahead," Ino pulled her shirt over her shirt and tossed it behind her, making it purposely land on Sakura's head. "One!" She hurriedly stepped out of her panties, waiting patiently until Sakura got over her surprise and pulled the shirt off her head befre tossing them towards the pinkette. "And two!" The blonde grinned and stepped into the shower, blocking Sakura's view of her using the shower curtain.

Sakura brushed Ino's underwear off of her arm, laughing. "You couldn't just leave them by your feet, could you?" She asked. Deciding that she'd brush her teeth after she showered, Sakura moved towards the toilet and put the seat cover down so that she could sit on it. Ino would have a fit if she didn't keep her company.

"There's no fun in that, is there?" Ino raised her voice slightly so that she could be heard clearly over the water.

Shaking her head with amusement, Sakura leaned forward with a sly smirk. "Y'know, Ino, we could always save water by just showering together. I mean, I've already seen you naked from the back." She pointed out. She really wasn't expecting Ino to actually agree to letting her in the shower with the blonde, but it didn't hurt to try.

"As much as I'd love to see you in all your glory, Saku, I'm afraid there's hardly enough room for two people in here," Ino faked a sad voice, trying hard not to laugh. She tilted her head back in the shower to soak her long hair, slowly closing her eyes.

"Aw, you don't want me pressed up against you, Ino?" Sakura pouted, smiling happily at the pet name Ino used for her once again. She crossed her right leg over her left leg, staring at the closed door instead of watching the shower curtain that she knew a very much naked and wet blonde was behind. _Her _blonde.

"Forehead, if you got in this shower with me, you'd have to be practically on top of me to fit," Ino informed her, obviously exaggerating how small the shower was, and Sakura could tell. That shower could obviously hold two people, maybe three depending on how small each person was.

"That would be a problem?" Sakura let a slow grin spread on her face, figuring that from the giggling she could hear from inside the shower that Ino was both amused because of what she had said and couldn't think of anything to say back at her.

"I'd be too busy with you to actually wash up before my hot water runs out," Ino finally said, making Sakura turn to look at the curtain with a smile. The pinkette did enjoy going back and forth with Ino like this. They had done it many times before, just not on this particular subject.

"Cold showers aren't that bad. Besides, who said you couldn't wash up? You can just do so while I break the 'look but don't touch' rule."

"Mhm, stop trying to tempt me or I may actually need to hang around in her 'till the water gets cold. That means a cold shower for you too, Kitten."

_'Nother pet name. That's a good sign. _"I can just hang around with you in the shower. It's a fact that I can provide more 'company' when I'm showering with you than when we're separated by a curtain." Sakura flicked her messy hair out of her face, shifting in her seat so that she could lean against the wall and face the shower curtain. "I'm sure you'd enjoy the company I meant when we aren't separated like this much more than the company I'm providing now," She added.

"I'll tell you want, Sakura," Ino started, a certain smugness to her voice. "When you finally get your first kiss, then I'll let you shower with me the next time you're over here and I'm in the shower," She told the pinkette, then added as an after thought, "and pecks don't count! It's gotta be a real kiss!"

That brought a smile to Sakura's face almost immediatly. "Fair enough," She stated, standing up and wandering closer to the shower. Sure, what she was about to do may be the predictable approach, but she wouldn't be surprised if Ino didn't figure it out.

"Hey Ino, look." Sakura watched the shower curtain intently until Ino peered outside of the shower, one hand holding the shower curtain in a way that had only her head showing. The blonde blinked with surprise when she noticed the pinkette so close to the shower.

"Saku, what-"

Sakura had leaned forward and pressed her lips lightly against Ino's, which had been parted since the Yamanaka had been talking. Sakura's first kiss was chaste, only lasting for about five seconds, before the pinkette pulled back, casually wiping water off of her face. The fact that Ino was staring with shock at her really wasn't helping her confidence.

* * *

Behold, that's what I'm like in the morning as well. I just slowly start to lose my energy as the day goes on.

Anyway, do you all want a lemon to be in this story? Just curious. Sure, I'll try to write one if people want one. Try being the key word there. Then again, I tend to say I'll try a lot of things just because of my crappy self esteem. Ehh.

Finally, there's a kiss here. At the very end. I know, even I'm annoyed at myself for ending it there, but I need something to start the next chapter off with. Well, that and I need to focus on finishing off the next chapter of 'Too Much, Not Enough'. I hardly have a thousand words on that chapter...

You reviewers really boost my confidence and make me smile, so thank you very much!

- Flower Cynic


	6. Step Six: No Reason To Be Nervous

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

In hardly a few seconds, the sounds coming from the bathroom had gone from Ino and Sakura bantering back and forth to only the sound of the shower. Knowing that, it made the sound of the water hitting the bottom of the shower seem rather creepy, like the two girls had just disappeared. But in reality, one was simply in shock, staring at the other, who was only thinking about how she could have possibly just made the worst choice of her life.

Ino slowly took a step back, easing the curtain to the right again so that it was back into place along the whole shower. Remaining silent, the blonde stared at the dark figure she could make out because of the light on the other side of the curtain, knowing it was Sakura. _Oh my God. Did she just...? Oh..._

The blonde closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her right hand. It wasn't the fact that Sakura was a girl that was troubling her. She had established that she was very much bisexual, after all. No, it was the fact that she hadn't expected Sakura to do that. It seemed her mind was still registering Sakura as a friend, perhaps a best friend if she were to stretch it, and nothing more.

Sakura looked away from the curtain and towards the floor with a frown, her eyes half closed. _Way to go, idiot. That was a lovely way to use your head in a situation like this. You couldn't just settle for friend, could you? No, you had to go for the big prize. Damn it..._

"I think I should go..." The pinkette murmured, excusing herself from the bathroom quietly when Ino didn't say anything in reply. _So much for telling Naruto this. I'd be lucky if I could ever look her in the eyes again...A shame, too. Her eyes are wonderful._

Sakura moved towards Ino's bed, grabbing her bag off the floor, as well as her clothes that she had changed out of the day before. She slipped them on over top of what she had worn to bed, not wanting to spend more time than she needed at the Yamanaka residence. It was awkward enough as it was.

Without saying so to Ino, Sakura slipped out of the blonde's room and dragged her feet down the hall, jumping slightly when a cheerful voice greeted her from the living room when she had almost made it past it. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Yamanaka," She said with a small smile, trying to make it look like she wasn't as depressed as she actually was.

"You're leaving already? Ino didn't upset you, did she? My daughter is rather rude..." The platinum blonde woman admitted, watching Sakura with a worried expression. "Well, is there anything you need before you go?"

"No, Ino didn't do anything..." Sakura shrugged a bit, trying to look anywhere but at Ino's mother. "Um...actually, could I use your phone?" She asked after catching sight of the aforementioned object sitting on the table in front of the couch that her and Ino had been sitting on the day before.

"Of course," Mrs. Yamanaka smiled happily and handed her the phone before turning her attention back to the show that she had been watching before Sakura had come out. She was a very polite woman, so she wasn't about to eavesdrop on Sakura's conversation with whoever she had to phone.

Sakura nodded gratefully and dialed in Naruto's number as quickly as she could, subtly casting glances down the hall at Ino's room in case the blonde came out. Pressing 'talk', Sakura held the phone up to her ear and tapped her foot lightly against the ground, feeling quite impatient. She needed to get out of this house _now_.

"Hello?"

"Naruto! It's Sakura. Listen, I need you to meet me over at my house. Please, don't ask questions. I'll tell you everything when I get there," Sakura answered, sending another glance down the hallway. _Naruto, you take too long to think about things..._

"Alright," Came the reply. "Seeya." With that, the line went silent from both Sakura and Naruto hanging up at almost the same time.

"Thanks, Mrs. Yamanaka," Sakura nodded slightly to the platinum blonde haired woman before moving back to the front door, slipping on her shoes. She politely declined when Ino's mother offered to send her daughter out after her as soon as she got out of the shower, which Sakura knew had basically just confirmed the woman's suspicions that Ino had done something wrong.

Sakura put on her jacket and swung her bag over her shoulder, leaving the Yamanaka residence with a small frown on her face.

* * *

Naruto watched with a worried look on his face as Sakura paced around her room, staring sadly at the ground the whole time. She had just gotten through explaining the whole situation to him, up until when she left the bathroom while Ino was still taking a shower. He had stayed silent the whole time, just wondering how this could have possibly saddened the pinkette, only to realize why when she got to the end of her recollection.

"I thought you said she was bi, though?" Naruto frowned thoughtfully when Sakura took a seat beside him. "Why would she be freaked out at all if that's true?" Naruto set one arm over Sakura's shoulders, giving her a one-armed hug.

"Maybe it's just because of me," Sakura mumbled, staring down at her lap. "What was I thinking?" She sighed and buried her face in her hands, closing her eyes slowly.

Naruto frowned, feeling anger wash over him at the blonde girl that was making his friend look down upon herself like that. "I'll be right back," He told the pinkette, standing up and moving out of Sakura's room.

"What are you going to do?" Sakura asked, a worried expression on her face. The last thing she needed Naruto to do was go and threaten Ino's life or anything along those lines. She wouldn't put it past him to do that, though she was secretly flattered that the normally happy-go-lucky blonde boy would become so serious because of her.

"I'm gonna make a quick call," Naruto said, purposely being vague. He simply waved over his shoulder to acknowledge the fact that Sakura had told him to not be too hard on 'her'. Naruto knew that Sakura had caught on to what he was going to do.

Naruto stopped in front of the phone, dialing in the number that he had seen Sakura put in so many times before. He held it up to her ear, narrowing his eyes slightly when it took a rather long time for the phone to be picked up, especially when he knew that Ino would still be home, and even then it was Ino's mother who answered.

"Hello, Ino's mum?" Naruto spoke when the platinum blonde woman on the other end of the line greeted him cheerfully. "Can I speak to Ino, please? Thanks," He muttered when she told him to wait a moment. Even if she had taken the phone away from her mouth, Naruto could still hear Mrs. Yamanaka calling for her daughter, who yelled back to her that she was coming.

"Alright, I'm here. What do you want?" Ino answered the phone rather rudely, quite unlike how her mother had politely greeted Naruto when she picked up the phone. It was obvious that just from listening to Ino's tone that the blonde was on edge and irritated.

"Sakura told me everything," Naruto said curtly, blinking when Ino didn't say anything in reply. "Ino, do you really want to just walk away from someone who's crush on you could possibly turn into love?" He asked, knowing he sounded quite angry.

"I didn't walk away from her!" Ino cried out indignantly. "Wait...she actually likes me?" She asked timidly after a short pause, even sounding unsure of herself. "I mean...As more than friends?"

Naruto cast a glance over his shoulder to where Sakura was watching him. The pinkette was leaning against the wall, listening in on his half of the conversation. The shock on her face over what Naruto had said eventually passed when she realized that Naruto could have possibly gotten through to the blonde with that. Naruto smiled for a moment and reached over, pressing the 'speaker' button on the phone.

"That's right. Now because of you, she thinks there's something wrong with her. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Ino tried to defend herself, but fell silent immediatly after from what Naruto had said before.

"Naruto, there's nothing wrong with her. I know she's always been self-conscious about how she looks...especially her forehead...but there's nothing wrong with her," Ino's voice informed him, loud enough to carry over to Sakura. The Yamanaka herself remained unaware that the pinkette could hear her. "She's beautiful. And I swear, if you ever let anyone tell her otherwise, I will-"

"Um, Ino-" Naruto started, casting a glance at Sakura, who was slowly making her way closer to the phone with a small smile on her face.

"-hunt you down and wish you had never even been born! She-"

"Ino, you may want to-"

"-deserves only the best, and even if I may not be able to give that to her, the least you could do is be there for her! I screwed that up today, but-"

"Ino...do you really think that?" Sakura asked softly, though she was loud enough for the blonde to hear. Ino quickly quieted down, shocked that the pinkette had been listening to her this whole time.

"U-Uh, Sakura, hello!" Ino stammered, trying to avoid the question. "How much did you hear?" She asked, making sure she didn't refer to something that Sakura hadn't heard. That would only make the older girl ask more questions.

"'Naruto, there's nothing wrong with her'," Sakura repeated what Ino had said just a few moments ago. She smiled when she could actually hear Ino hold her breath. "'She's beautiful. And I swear, if you ever let anyone tell her otherwise, I will hunt you down and wish you had never been born'," She quoted her childhood friend again.

"Oh my God..." Ino murmured, obviously embarrassed that Sakura had heard her say all those things. She drew in a breath, trying to boost up her own confidence. "Well, it's true. I thought you knew that, especially when you kept saying that your forehead was sexy."

Sakura blushed and cleared her throat, trying hard to ignore the smirk that Naruto couldn't hold back at Ino's last comment. "I guess it's different hearing someone else tell you you're beautiful than telling yourself you are," She frowned thoughtfully. Talking with Ino on the phone just didn't have the same effect as talking to the blonde in person. "Hey, are you still gonna come over here like we planned?" She asked.

"It depends. Do you want me to after this whole thing?" Ino asked right away. Sakura could easily tell that the Yamanaka was nervous, and that fact alone made her smile. Ino was hardly ever nervous.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Sakura asked happily, trying not to let her brain try to think of too many things to do with Ino at her house at once.

"Well...nevermind. Mind if I start headin' over now?"

"Not at all! Seeya later!" Sakura grinned, hanging up a moment after a 'bye' came from the other end of the line. Absently, she lightly touched her index finger to her lips before laughing and spinning around happily in a moment of sheer unadulterated joy.

"She's not freaked out! She's not freaked out!" The pinkette cheered, blinking her eyes open again with surprise when Naruto grabbed her arm to prevent her from disappearing into her room. "There something you need?"

"Instead of fretting about what you should wear, you should just wait by the door for her. Or even better, wait outside for her. C'mon, you gotta do somethin', especially after what she just said to you!" Naruto advised, chuckling when Sakura said a quick 'Oh!' and rushed past him, trying to slip on her shoes as quickly as she could.

* * *

Sakura boredly drummed her fingers against her thigh, sitting on the top door step leading up to her front door. Sure, she may have only been sitting there for about five minutes, but she was still impatient. She couldn't help it. The girl that she had had a crush on for quite a while was going to be coming to her house, after all. The fact that she had just learned that she may actually have a chance with this girl only added to her impatience.

"Where is she...?" Sakura muttered, leaning forward and planting her chin in her hands with her elbows on her legs. Blinking slowly, she continued to look around at the people walking by, trying to see if any of them had blonde hair, until she recognized one person who was staring intently at the ground, muttering under her breath.

"Ino!" Sakura greeted, standing up and waving to the Yamanaka. "Took ya' long enough! What held you up?" She asked, struggling to not grin with amusement when Ino looked up with surprise, then look away from her hurriedly.

"Ah...My mom attacked me with questions as soon as I got off the phone. Turns out she overheard my half of the conversation," Ino muttered, walking up the steps to the Haruno residence's front door.

Sakura let a bothered look cross her face at Ino's behaviour before leading the way into her home, shutting the door when the blonde girl got in. "So...make yourself at home and tell me if you need anything."

"Alright."

The pinkette, remembering that Naruto was still at her house, moved away from the living room that Ino had just disappeared into and walked towards her room. "Naruto, what exactly do you plan on doing?" She called quietly, peeking around the door frame to look at Naruto, who was looking curiously around her room.

"I'll be leaving, don't worry," Naruto waved her off over his shoulder. The blonde boy stayed silent for a few moments before turning to Sakura with a grin. "You should get into the shower," He said suddenly, making Sakura's face go red.

"Don't you think that's a little too obvious?" Sakura asked, pushing Naruto out of her room and towards the front door. She let Naruto put his shoes on at his own pace, though did tap her foot against the ground impatiently.

"Well, you got your first kiss, didn't you?" Naruto grinned when Sakura simply shrugged, obviously embarrassed. "Have fun, and try to do absolutely everything I would do," He told her, receiving a rather hard bop on the head for thinking such thoughts. However, he simply laughed it off and exited Sakura's house, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I can't believe him..." Sakura muttered after closing the door. She walked quietly towards the living room, where Ino was currently sprawled out on the couch face-down. Smiling deviously, Sakura silently crept towards the blonde, attacking her ticklish sides as soon as she was close enough.

"Ah! Sakura!" Ino laughed, flailing as much as she could to get Sakura off of her. What was worse was that since she was still on her stomach, she couldn't push Sakura away from her.

"C'mon, what happened to all those cute little nicknames?" Sakura asked, letting up on her tickling, though still held Ino's sides in case the blonde tried to get away. When Ino stayed silent, the pinkette smirked. "Don't make me sit on you.

"You wouldn't dare," Ino challenged Sakura, trying to stare her down, but she couldn't quite look over her shoulder well in the position she was in. She grunted with surprise at the sudden weight on her back when Sakura did actually sit on her, legs hanging off the edge of the couch.

"I would and I did." Sakura absently toyed with Ino's hair, contemplating taking it out of it's ponytail. She couldn't help but smile when Ino grunted into the couch, obviously not even bothering to put up a fight. "Nicknames..." She drawled, poking annoyingly at the back of Ino's head.

"You mean like 'Forehead'?" Ino asked, though Sakura could tell that Ino knew very well which nicknames she was talking about. "Or...'Billboard Brow'?" She continued, grinning when Sakura huffed with annoyance.

"You know what I meant," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Pig," She added as an after thought, going back to running her fingers through Ino's long hair. "Like Saku, and Kitten...I love those ones." She smiled once again, prodding the back of the blonde's head again for a response.

"Oh?" Ino smirked and closed her eyes, feeling her arm starting to go numb due to the fact that it was trapped between her (with Sakura's weight added to her own) and the couch.

"Yeah," Sakura nodded and leaned forward until she was actually laying on Ino, turning her head so that the left side of her head was against Ino's back. "I had so much planned to do when you came over that I was trying not to think of more than one thing at once...now I can't even remember one. It's your fault, Ino-pig."

"Mhm. You were just so excited when you saw me that everything just rushed out of your head. I tend to have that effect on people." Ino pushed against the couch with her arms, sitting up with some difficulty, thus making Sakura slide down her back.

Blinking with surprise, Sakura wrapped her arms around Ino's torso and her legs around Ino's waist to stop herself from falling back onto the couch. She stayed conscious of where her hands were, moving slightly so that her chin was resting on Ino's shoulder. "Of course. Everyone just stops and stares when you're around," She smiled and rolled her eyes.

Ino stiffened slightly at the limbs wrapped around her body, though couldn't help but relax gradually because of the soft breathing by her ear. "I hope you know that I can just lay down and trap you," She pointed out, glancing at Sakura through the corner of her eye.

"If you did, then you wouldn't be able to sit up very easily with me still hanging onto you." Sakura tightened her grip slightly on the blonde to emphasize her point. She couldn't help but smile softly when Ino carefully set her hands on the pinkette's legs, absently rubbing them in circles with her thumbs.

"True," Ino conceeded, smirking just before she stood up with a grunt, now keeping Sakura's legs hooked firmly in her arms so Sakura didn't slide down. This sudden movement made Sakura gasp with surprise and hurriedly move her arms from the blonde's torso to her neck, making sure she wasn't gripping it tight enough to choke the Yamanaka.

"Ino! What do you think you're doing?!" Sakura held onto Ino for dear life as the blonde started moving from the living room to the kitchen, laughing at the near-terrified pinkette on her back.

"Letting you _ride_ me. What else?" Ino slowly smiled when Sakura remained silent out of embarrassment, assuming that Sakura had thought exactly what she knew she had been implying. Deciding the shake the girl on her back up a bit, Ino leaned forward quite a lot, resulting in her almost being choked by the now yelling Haruno.

"You pig! Don't you dare let me fall!" Sakura cried out, shutting her eyes when Ino slowly stood back up after struggling not to fall from a mix of laughing and having difficulty breathing. She let out a loud sigh of relief when she felt her back being pressed against a wall, preventing her from falling backwards. "Tired already?"

"Just a bit," Ino grinned and tilted her head back, resting it against the wall by the pinkette's head. Despite the smile on the blonde's face, Sakura frowned and craned her head slightly to look carefully at her childhood friend.

"You're still nervous, aren't you?" The pinkette asked slowly, letting a small smile show on her face at the slight blush that spread across the bridge of Ino's nose. "Don't be. I really do like you, Pig, and even if you're absolutely adorable when you're all nervous like this, you have no reason to be."

Ino hurriedly looked away from Sakura, intent on looking anywhere but at the pinkette's eyes. "That's just it, though. I do have a reason to be nervous. You _like_ me. That changes everything."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're so stubborn. Just relax and enjoy being here," She urged the blonde, resting her chin back on the girl's shoulder only to have to raise it again as the Yamanaka started walking away from the wall and back towards the couch. She slid off Ino slowly when the blonde stood in front of the couch, looking unhappily up at the younger girl.

"Sit," The pinkette instructed, gesturing to the right of her. She frowned slightly when the blonde looked annoyed at being ordered to do something. "Please?" She added, smiling and scooting closer to Ino when she finally took a seat beside her.

"Alright, Ino," Sakura started confidently, turning around to face the blonde who was now looking curiously at her. "You're my crush. You will always be my crush. You're smart when you want to be and you care deeply about your friends and even people who you've never met on certain occasions. You just have the best personality." Sakura paused, making a show of looking Ino up and down.

"And you're hot. I mean, I'm surprised that I never noticed it much sooner than I did." Sakura made a face, as if she had disliked what she had said. "For some reason, 'hot' just doesn't seem like the right word. You're _gorgeous._"

By this time, Ino had hid her face in her hands to cover up her blush. She shook her head, incredibly embarrassed. "Holy crap," She muttered into her palms, falling back against the arm of the couch. "Just..._holy crap._ Where did all that come from? I drop you back on the couch and you go through this whole 'you're my crush' speech."

"Well, everything I said was true," Sakura looked distinctly unhappy at the reaction that she got from everything she had said. Her friend seemed...almost awkward around her at the moment. _Oh, I see. Ino's not good with serious talks like this. Think, Sakura, think. What were you doing yesterday that had her talking to you so easily? Oh yeah!_

The pinkette pursed her lips and got up on her hands and knees, moving so that she was laying over top of the stunned blonde. She couldn't help but grin giddily at the fact that she could get away with laying between the girl's legs instead of on top of them.

"Huh, this position remind you of this morning?" Sakura couldn't help but draw lazy circles on Ino's collar bone with her index finger. "Wait, can you see down my shirt?" She asked, remembering that she had easily seen down Ino's shirt when she woke up. Fortunately, Ino took the bait, thus missing Sakura's sly expression.

Without even thinking about it, Ino looked quickly away from Sakura's face and towards her chest to see if she could actually see down the Haruno's shirt. She breathed out steadily, like she was trying to calm herself. _Easy, girl. Stop being this nervous wreck of an idiot. You're Ino Yamanaka! You're not a shy little girl!_

"Ehh...Sorta. I've seen better, though," Ino shrugged, forcing a bored look on her face. She could feel her mouth threatening to curve up into an amused smile at the sight of Sakura scowling at her.

"You have?! Who's?!" Sakura asked hurriedly, obviously jealous and now fired up. She planted her hands on either side of Ino's neck, raising herself up to loom over the blonde. It was almost like she was silently threatening the blonde to not tell her, just so the pinkette could force it out of her.

"Relax, Saku!" Ino laughed at how strongly Sakura had reacted. She only giggled more when Sakura actually seemed to calm down a bit after Ino had used her pet name. "I was talking about mine. Obviously."

"Oh," Sakura felt her jealousy completey rush out of her. The stunned look on her face only lasted for a few seconds before being replaced by a happy one. She lowered herself back down onto Ino, turning her head so that she could listen to Ino's heart beating.

"So, Ino...did you really mean what you said on the phone?"

"Of course. I had no reason to lie."

"Well...can you say it again to my face?" Sakura tilted her head up, looking questioningly at Ino, who had looked down at her a moment after she had done so herself. "I know it's harder to say it in person than it is on the phone, but-"

"You're beautiful," Ino interrupted her, enjoying the fact that Sakura was the one blushing for once. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. They're just jealous."

"...Thanks..." Sakura murmured, closing her eyes. She smiled blissfully when she felt the blonde's hands resting on her lower back without her having to place them there. "And you were wrong, Pig. You can give me better than the best," She sighed happily.

"Think so?" Ino inquired, shifting slightly so that the arm of the couch wasn't digging uncomfortably into her back anymore. "Hey, watch that mouth. I'm perfectly capable of kicking your ass if you're about to put it to use," The blonde told Sakura, making the pinkette grin adorably.

"But Inooo," Sakura drawled, nuzzling Ino's breast again like she had just done. "They're love pillows! If I can't see them, then it's only fair I can touch them!"

Ino went bright red, obviously not expecting Sakura to repeat her action. "Well, my 'love pillows' are off-limits," She announced, tapping repeatedly at the back of the pinkette's head until Sakura raised her head from her chest to look at her. "You're certainly forward."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Well, how else am I supposed to get some reactions out of you? If it were up to you, I'd probably still be your rival. You never liked being emotionally involved with someone, did you?" She sighed and wrapped her arm's around the younger girl's neck, tilting her head to the side to rest her head on her arm.

"Who's to say I've ever been emotionally involved with you?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. She sat up for a moment to allow Sakura's arm to hang around her neck, pulling her hair out from between her back and the couch so that she'd stop pulling it.

"Well, when we were kids, you and I were friends. Then there's now. You may still be in denial, but I can see it," Sakura smiled slowly, pausing for the dramatic effect.

"See what?" Ino inquired. Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel even the slightest bit excited over what Sakura could apparently 'see'.

"...You like me. You want to kiss me. Oh, and I might as well add shower with me, if were goin' with things that you're gonna do in the near future," Sakura grinned when Ino's face fell. _Hey, we should go to the Hot Springs while I'm still on the shower wavelength..._

"And if I do?" Truthfully, Ino knew that she returned Sakura's feelings. Proof of that was the fact that she hadn't pushed Sakura off of her when the pinkette had rubbed an intimate part of her body. The fact was that Sakura was right - she didn't like being emotionally involved with someone in this manner, let alone try to express how she felt.

"Well, then you should go right ahead and lay one on me," Sakura pointed to her mouth, looking at the blonde expectantly. She mentally pumped her fist into the air when she noticed that Ino slowly looked away from her eyes and settled on her lips, a small frown on her face, like she was actually thinking it over. _C'mon, Ino. Stop obsessing over...well, whatever you're so nervous about. Just do it!_

The pinkette felt herself subconsciously leaning forward. She smirked, deciding to try and tempt the younger girl further. She slowly licked her lips, grinning giggily on the inside when she noticed Ino's now half-closed eyes. "Just one little kiss. You aren't afraid of that, are you?" She murmured, rubbing the back of Ino's neck when she realized that her arms were still wrapped around it.

Ino closed her eyes, still contemplating this whole idea. _What's the worst that could come out of this? I won't be able to look at her without blushing I think would be the worst. She does like me, after all. It's not like she would have a problem with it...In fact, she'd probably want more._ She smiled absently. _If I recall correctly, I decided in the shower that I would have kissed her back if I hadn't been so shocked..._

Sakura silently swooned at the cute look of concentration on her crush's face. "Ino, sweetie..." She cooed, making Ino open her eyes to look curiously at her. "I won't wait on you forever. Literally. It's not a hard decision. Want me to make it for you?" She offered, putting on her best innocent look.

"Please," Ino pursed her lips, already knowing that Sakura knew what she wanted. That was why she wasn't surprised when the pinkette eagerly pressed their lips together for a second time, though it was really their first 'real' kiss.

The pinkette smiled happily, removing her hands from the back of Ino's neck in favour of running them through the blonde's hair. She held back a displeased noise when she ran into the annoying elastic that was holding Ino's hair back into a ponytail. Still managing to focus mostly on kissing the taller girl, Sakura slowly working the elastic out of the blonde's hair.

Ino raised her head slightly to press harder against Sakura's mouth as well as to let Sakura take her hair out of its ponytail. Unfortunately for both girls, though, Ino couldn't help but let out a pained yelp when Sakura accidentally pulled her hair.

"Oh, Ino, I'm sorry," Sakura apologized when she was finally able to toss the elastic half way across the room. She moved off of the blonde and sat on the other end of the couch, grabbing Ino's wrist as she went. This action made Ino sit up with Sakura, looking at the pinkette with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura gently grabbed Ino's shoulders and eased the confused blonde towards her legs, removing her hands from Ino's shoulders only when the blonde had her head on her lap. "It didn't hurt too bad, did it?" She asked, tenderly stroking Ino's long blonde hair that was no longer trapped in a ponytail.

The blissful look on Ino's face made Sakura giggle, considerably decreasing how guilty she felt for accidentally pulling her hair. "You only pulled my hair. It's not like you bruised me or anything, Kitten," She told her, deciding that she enjoyed the position she was in now.

As always, the Haruno smiled at the pet name. That one had to be her favourite. "Still. I hear Yamanaka's are very sensitive about their hair being damaged. I mean, your dad is probably more concerned about his hair than I am for my own," She grinned. "His hair's longer than mine, too."

"Oh yes. Every Yamanaka has gorgeous, long blonde hair. Hair that is supposed to be kept in a ponytail, mind you," Ino poked Sakura accusingly in the arm, letting her own arm fall back to lay across her stomach a moment afterwards.

"But you look so much better with your hair down," Sakura pointed out, still running her fingers through Ino's blonde locks. "A _loose_ ponytail would be fine with me."

"Think about it, though. I'd rather not have my hair constantly in my face during a mission. I'd also rather not have my hair be the reason I accidentally get myself killed," Ino sighed and brushed strands of her own hair out of her face, rolling her eyes. "I'd rather not have short hair, but sometimes having long hair can be so annoying. But my hair is beautiful, so I'm keeping it."

Sakura grinned with amusement. They stayed that way, Ino's head planted in Sakura's lap and Sakura still stroking Ino's hair, until Sakura remembered her earlier thought.

"So...how do you feel about going to the Hot Springs?"

* * *

'Kay, then only reason I noticed this before was because my friend pointed it out to me, but for some reason I use the word 'obviously' a lot. I looked back through everything I've written and yes, 'obviously' does appear a lot. Funny, huh? Wanna know something else funny? I don't pronounce it right, either. I have some sort of issue with that word. It's not just 'obviously' for me, it always '_ob_viously_'. _I just put emphasis on the first syllable so it sounds like I'm pronouncing the 'b'. It's so amusing listening to my friends imitate me whenever I say that.

And for those of you who are actually still reading this after my short rant on that weird word, do you want Ino to be a bit more forward from now on? Honestly, the Ino and Sakura in this story are reversed compared to what I was picturing them as. Ino was supposed to be the pervert and Sakura was supposed to be the reluctant, 'doesn't like being emotionally involved' one. Oh well, it still works. Hopefully.

I think I loved that 'love pillow' part. It's great when you can make yourself smile.

- Flower Cynic


	7. Step Seven: Steam Factor

To answer you question, random-randomize, Ino is a bit younger than Sakura, since Sakura's birthday is March 28 and Ino's is September 23. Oh, and thanks for the suggestion, **Death Sword**. I may just have to use it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Ino absently rubbed her bare stomach, her mouth turned up grumpily. She couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to go to the Hot Springs with Sakura. What had she been thinking? Of course, the fact that Sakura had decided to not even touch Ino, let alone let the blonde continue to lay on her lap, until she said she was going to the Hot Springs might have had something to do with it.

Still, she was unhappy that she had given up so easily. Ino was sure it showed, too, from the way Sakura kept looking over her shoulder to cast a quick glance at her, then looked back when she noticed Ino looking back at her. It was incredibly amusing, though, how Sakura seemed to look so worried at the look on her face. It must look like she was actually angry with the pinkette.

"Relax, Saku," Ino laughed when Sakura looked over her shoulder again, but hurriedly looked back again. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just surprised that I gave up so quickly." The blonde turned her mouth up again, remembering how she had actually been too stunned to talk when Sakura moved her into a sitting position so she could walk away from the couch and from the blonde.

"I guess you're more attached to me than you let on," Sakura grinned, a blush still evident on her face from being caught looking at Ino yet again. "Well, wipe that look off your face or I'll go get Naruto to join us," She threatened, giggling when Ino stuck her tongue out at her, making a face at the threat.

"Yeah, whatever," Ino rolled her eyes, jogging a bit to catch up to Sakura and letting her hand drop from her stomach. "So, anyway...are we just going to soak in the water for the whole time that we're here?" She asked, looking around to see if anyone else was there. From what she could see, there were only a few people of each gender.

"Why, Ino! Are you implying that you want to do something else?" Sakura grinned slyly up at Ino, who simply rolled her eyes at what Sakura was thinking.

"I swear, sometimes you can be even more perverted than Naruto with that stupid jutsu of his." Ino slipped through the door, flinching slightly with surprise at the sudden heat that hit her from the Hot Springs. She walked around to the far end of the water, dropping her towel down by her feet.

Sakura shrugged, grinning deviously when she noticed that the back of Ino's bikini top was tied together and not one solid strap. _So I can just reach over and pull the string... _The pinkette blushed, though continued to grin as she began to shed her own clothing. Like Ino, she had put on her bathing suit ahead of time underneath her clothes.

The blonde slipped into the water, sighing happily and sinking down until the water was up to her neck. "Ohhh..." She drawled, closing her eyes and leaning against the side of the Hot Springs, "it's been so long since I've been to the Hot Springs..."

"Well..." Sakura started, getting into the water beside Ino. She smirked, choosing her words carefully. "I'm glad I made you come, then," She announced cheerfully, tilting her head back with her eyes cast to the right in order to watch for Ino's reaction.

Ino opened one eye and glanced at Sakura, staying silent for a moment before smirking. "Frankly, I'm surprised you managed to. I'm pretty sure the only one who's managed to do so that easily was...Shika."

Sakura sat up quickly, choking on her own spit out of surprise. She hadn't exactly been expecting that, after all. "You aren't serious, are you? I mean..._Shikamaru_, of all people?!"

Laughing at Sakura's reaction, Ino held her now aching stomach (from laughing, of course) and shook her head slightly. "I was talking about him talking me into helping him clean up his house after his dad told him to. What were you thinking?" She paused, grining broadly. "It's just too easy to make you jealous, Saku!" She giggled, covering her mouth with her free hand in an attempt to stiffle her laughter.

The pinkette eyed Ino suspiciously for a moment or two before scoffing and closing her eyes, trying to relax. "Eh, whatever." She shifted several times, trying to find a position that was perfect, though finally gave up with a sigh. She was being fussy and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. Silence always made her uncomfortable.

Ino shook her head at Sakura, still laughing occasionally. "You're just too much. Come here," She instructed, gesturing to the area right in front of her. "I won't bite."

"Damn," Sakura smiled and moved towards where Ino was pointing, gasping with surprise when Ino suddenly wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her flush against the blonde. "Forgive me for ever saying you were nervous or anything like that!" She breathed, still forcing away the surprise she was feeling.

Ino grinned lopsidedly. "The forehead of your's is just too sexy for me to resist," She told the shorter girl, resting her chin on the pinkette's shoulder.

Sakura wriggled around for a moment, waiting until Ino loosened her arms around her waist before turning so that the front of her body was pressed against the younger girl instead of her back. "Well, that's unfair," She muttered when Ino pressed the tip of her index finger to her forehead, "you can touch whatever you want on me. Can't I at least fondle them once?"

The blonde knew exactly what Sakura was talking about. "What's with you and my bust? That can't be a very healthy obssession," She pointed out, despite the very much amused look on her face.

Sakura huffed and forced more chakra to flow through the muscles in her arms so that she was able to push Ino down into the water. When the blonde rose above the surface again, the pinkette backed up a few steps to avoid being pushed underneath the water herself. "My obsession is completely natural," She retorted, continuing to retreat backwards when the blonde started moving towards her.

"Oh?" Ino grinned, turning her head to the side and spitting out the water that had gotten in her mouth when Sakura had forced her under the water. "Okay, I'll tell you what. I'm gonna get you under the water one way or another. If you push me under first, I'll admit that your obsession is fine. I win, you admit that you have a problem."

Sakura seemed to think on this for a moment. "Okay, but I have something to add. The winner gets to play with the other's love pillows whenever they want!" She grinned broadly at the thought of doing so, looking pointedly down at Ino's chest.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Fine, it's a deal," She shook her head and moved quickly out of the way when Sakura practically lunged at her, reminding herself that she couldn't move as fast as she normally could while in the water. "Oh, _bring it_."

Turning back to look at Ino, Sakura brought her hands up and pushed against Ino's shoulders to try and knock the Yamanaka off balance. It worked for a moment, but not long enough for Sakura to push the blonde sideways. She did have enough time, however, to quickly think up her next plan.

"Not going to work, Kitten!" Ino frowned with surprise when Sakura calmly strolled towards her. She held her arms up in front of her defensively, wondering what the pinkette could possibly be thinking. Before she could ask or make a move to try and make Sakura fall into the water, the Haruno had jumped (proving to be a bit easier on Ino because of Sakura's weight being much lighter in the water) and wrapped her legs around Ino's waist with her hands grasping the taller girl's shoulders.

"You have some issues with just suddenly grabbing onto me like this, too," Ino observed with an amused smile, though stayed wary of what Sakura was going to do. "What are you planning, huh? It's not like you can do much."

"Maybe not. But this way, if I go down, you're comin' with me." Sakura tightened her legs around the other girl's waist to emphasize her point, only continuing to smirk triumphantly when Ino attempted to pry her legs off of her. "Ain't gonna work!"

Of course, Sakura hadn't counted on Ino being stronger than she looked. Then again, she really should have taken that into account, especially after Ino had picked her up and given her a piggyback ride for a few minutes. In no time at all, Ino had gotten a firm grasp on Sakura's knees and had unwrapped them from her waist, pushing them away from her and thus making Sakura stand up if she wanted to keep her head above the water.

_There's no rules against fighting dirty, though... _Sakura grinned mischeivously and leaned up, forcefully kissing the younger girl and ignoring the stares she got as a result from the other few people in the Hot Springs. Even if she had planned on moving forward to back Ino up into a side of the Hot Springs, Ino beat her to it. The pinkette couldn't hold back the greatly pleased noise when she felt a pair of hands caressing either side of her torso...

...Then, just like that, there was water all around her. The last thing she saw before she rose back up and wiped her face off was Ino's legs hurriedly moving to the right, in case she wanted revenge.

"That was unfair!" The pinkette huffed, crossing her arms and looking irritatedly at the younger girl. To this, Ino laughed and shook her head.

"First of all, you're the one that started fighting dirty. I only went along with it, then saw my chance. Second, wipe that pout off your face. It's too annoyingly adorable," Ino told her, pursing her lips and smiling at the surprised look on Sakura's face. That look quickly changed to a grumpy one.

"Alright, fine. I have a problem," Sakura said in a monotonous tone before brightening back up and smirking slyly. "So, I couldn't help but notice something. You seemed rather eager to win this. Is there a particular reason?" She inquired, letting her arms fall back to her sides.

"Perhaps," Ino returned the smirk, looking down distractedly when Sakura inhaled sharply in order to push her chest out farther (obviously on purpose to see the blonde's reaction). "No, stop it. Hey, get away from me...Don't make me hurt you!"

"Aw, you wouldn't harm a hair on my head," Sakura continued to advance towards Ino, grinning challengingly the whole way there. "C'mon, Ino. You aren't afraid of a little public affection, are you? Or are you just too _chicken_ to touch a girl? Oh, I bet that's it..." She drawled as soon as she saw the scowl on the blonde's face.

"I am anything _but_ chicken!" Ino said in an offended tone before reaching forward, grasping Sakura's hips and pulling the stunned girl towards her. "I'm just not as much of a pervert as you are, that's all." She grinned and forced Sakura to turn around.

_Oh my God! Is she really going to...? _Sakura looked down when she felt Ino's arms wrap around her middle, blinking quickly like she was afraid that she would miss something. _Yesss..._ She let out a long breath, allowing Ino to cross her arms over her chest so that her hands were softly tracing small circles on the sides of her breasts.

"Pervy Sage!"

_Oh, no way. _Sakura groaned when Ino quickly pulled back, having obviously recognized that voice. She scowled and sunk down to her neck in the water, turning to look in the direction that the voice had come from. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see women who had apparently heard that nickname before quickly climbing out of the water.

"Naruto!" The pinkette exclaimed furiously, moving her hair out of her face. Even with the wooden fence around the Hot Springs, she knew that there was still cracks between the boards, as well as the occasional hole here and there, perfect for any pervert who noticed them.

"It wasn't me! I just found him here!" Naruto yelled back from the other side of the fence, sounding surprised that Sakura had been there. "You were spying on Sakura?! What were you thinking?!" He asked, evidently talking to Jiraiya again.

"Ah, I thought this was your little friend! The pink hair really gave it away. But who's this she's with, hm? I _have_ always liked blondes a great deal more..."

Sakura clicked her teeth together and stood in front of Ino, promptly blocking Jiraiya's view of her. "Hey, hey, hey! She's _mine_!" She frowned, still glaring towards where she could now make out a happily narrowed eye, since they were rather close to the part of the fence that Jiraiya and Naruto were behind.

Ino peeked curiously over Sakura's head, looking in the general direction of Jiraiya. "You're mighty possessive, Kitten," She said with a hint of amusement in her voice before she returned her attention to the fence again. "Who's this 'Pervy Sage', anyway? Oh, wait...I think Naruto said that he's that Jiraiya guy or somethin' a few years ago..." She waved her hand slightly, as if dismissing the thought entirely.

Sighing, Sakura shook her head, still angry with both Jiraiya and Naruto for disturbing such a time for her and Ino. "C'mon, Ino. Let's go get changed. At least at one of our houses we can have some privacy!" She purposely raised her voice, climbing out of the water after Ino. She was still careful to walk beside the blonde in a certain way that still blocked Jiraiya's view of her.

"Should I be flattered or pissed?" Ino asked after the door to the change room was closed, setting down her towel and clothes that she had picked up on her way to the change room on the ground by her feet.

"Pissed. Definitely pissed," Sakura told her, looking distinctly disappointed when Ino turned around again so that her back was to the pinkette. "Still not allowed to see you facing me when you're naked?"

"Still not," Ino confirmed with a nod, stripping off her top first, followed quickly by the bottom part of her bikini. "Well, it was fun until the last few moments," She frowned with distaste. "So, still think I'm too chicken to touch a girl?" She asked with a sly smirk, trying to bring a smile to the still scowling pinkette's face.

Sakura only managed to keep a straight face for about five seconds before a smile slowly started to spread across her face. "I can say that I still do. I mean, what you did was hardly more than just touching my sides."

"I couldn't exactly go any further without having sex with you, could I?" Ino asked, grabbing her towel and drying her hair off first. "We were kinda in a public place, y'know."

"That wouldn't have been so bad. Well, 'sides the fact that I don't want anyone but me seeing my pig naked," Sakura, having finished drying her hair already, moved on to actually drying herself off. After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but make some sort of comment. "I hope you know that your ass can only keep me preoccupied for so long before I want more."

"I'm aware," Ino said with a dismissive wave over her shoulder, drying herself off as well. "And unfortunately for you, you're just going to have to settle for just seeing my ass and nothing else until I feel like turning around."

"Well, you should turn around. I myself have nothing to hide, but I do prefer that I keep some secrets to myself until I get something out of you," Sakura put on her undergarments first, running her fingers through her damp hair with a sigh.

"Mhm. As tempting as that absolutely sounds, I gotta say that no, I'm still not turning around." Ino laughed at the groan that came from behind her, hurriedly pulling on her shirt so that she could finally turn around, only to be greeted by the sight of Sakura who had everything on _except_ her shirt.

Grinning like the Cheshire cat, Ino moved quickly and quietly towards the pinkette, who wasn't facing the blonde at the moment, and wrapped her arms loosely around Sakura's arms so that she couldn't move them from her side and placed her chin on her shoulder.

"Yum, Shirtless Saku," Ino purred, reminding Sakura of the time at the Flower Shop, when Ino had spoken to her in a similar tone. The blonde absently toyed with the bottom of Sakura's bra, still smiling like the cat that ate the canary. "You should walk around your house like this when we get there," She told her.

Sakura smirked. "Oh, you're coming to my house now? Funny, I don't remember agreeing to this. Or even wanting to be in the same place as you for the rest of today," She said, forcing a disinterested and indifferent look on her face.

"Obviously. I'm coming to your house whether you like it or not." Ino nodded, as if finalizing her decision. "And you're also walking around the house like that, whether you like it or not. Naruto's not going to be there, I'm positive your parents are still away on that birthday trip you said had been planned for your mother by your dad...So we'll be all by ourselves. Absolutely no horror movies, probably no pizza 'cause you're poor as hell, and...well, maybe a piggyback ride if I'm feeling generous.

Sakura laughed, still remembering how much Ino had jumped during the horror movie they had watched. "Well, you forgot to mention one thing, Ino...Are you going to have a shower?" She asked slyly, reluctantly removing Ino's hands. She had to put her shirt on, after all, if they ever hoped to make it to her house.

"Oh course. If you're a good girl, I'll let you inside the bathroom." Ino stepped away from Sakura and grabbed her bikini, wringing out each piece before wrapping her towel around it and moving back towards the door. She looked back at Sakura, who was grinning to herself. Just from the look on the pinkette's face, Ino could tell that Sakura was fantasizing, or at the very least daydreaming, about something.

"Hey, are you ready?" The blonde asked, a faintly amused look on her face when Sakura simply nodded and walked towards her, that same look still on her face. "What're you thinking about?" She asked, grasping Sakura's left hand in her right one.

Sakura cast a glance down at their linked hands, surprised that Ino had actually done that before she did. "Um..." She tried to jump start her brain, a look onf concentration on her face. This lasted for a few moments before she finally managed to remember what she had been thinking about. She grinned up at Ino, which only unnerved the blonde.

"Mm...My shower's smaller than your's. Just think about it...If I can get in there, just picture it. Trying to get past each other without touching, but it's impossible..." Sakura sighed dreamily, absently swinging her's and Ino's linked hands forwards and backwards as she walked. "Then there's the water and steam factor...Water tends to make a person's body absolutely _glisten_..."

Ino groaned, rolling her eyes. "Stop having these x-rated fantasies in public. Wait until we're at your house. You may accidentally moan out loud."

"Oh, you wish you were that good."

"No, I know."

Sakura made a face, shivering when the wind blew against her face. The water still dripping from her hair and onto her neck only made things worse. "Stupid Jiraiya and Naruto. If they hadn't been there, we'd still be in the Hot Springs," She sighed, ignoring the fact that if it was just Naruto who hadn't been there, then that perverted man would have been watching Ino. _Her_ Ino.

* * *

"Home at last!" Sakura threw her arms up in the air, doing a quick twirl before sitting ungracefully on a large arm chair in the living room. She grinned broadly, closing her eyes and letting herself sink further into the chair. This had always been her favourite place to rest in the whole house. Paying no attention to the fact that her damp hair was getting the back of the chair wet, Sakura took that moment to try to remember what she had been daydreaming about just after she had gotten changed.

"Of course. Now that we're at your house you can just ignore me for Fantasy Ino," The blonde that had just gotten into the living room rolled her eyes, plopping down on the couch by the arm chair that Sakura was situated in. They had taken to calling the Ino that appeared in Sakura's daydreams "Fantasy Ino", just because Ino found it odd whenever Sakura said her name alone whenever she tried to describe those daydreams of her's. Of course, Ino had always interrupted her, but not before she heard some of the beginning of each one.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be if you decided to make Fantasy Ino and yourself one in the same," Sakura pointed out, cracking her eyes open to look at Ino. She smiled as soon as she saw Ino roll her eyes, despite the redness that was visible on her face, and move towards what she knew was the kitchen. "Hey, you gonna make us something to eat?" She inquired, getting up quickly from the chair and jogging into the kitchen.

The blonde was currently going through her fridge, then through her freezer, apparently having found something. "Saku, go take your shirt off. You remember what I told you back at the Hot Springs."

Sakura rolled her eyes, though did as she was told. It was rather odd to be shirtless in her house without being in her room, but she quickly vowed to get over it. She took a seat on the counter, curiously watching as Ino took out a tray of ice cubes, then went back into the fridge and pulled out a nearly full two litre bottle of Pepsi.

"Ah, fixing us a refreshing beverage?" Sakura grinned when Ino only nodded, apparently too wrapped up in what she was doing. She remembered one time when they had been twelve or thirteen and Ino had been crunching ice cubes annoyingly in her ear. Back then, that sound had bothered her greatly, but now it wasn't so bad. She wasn't quite sure if Ino even remembered that, though.

Sakura was jerked cruelly out of her thoughts by a loud smashing sound, realizing that the blonde across from her was the reason for it. She had smacked the bottom of the tray down against the top of the counter, making a few of the ice cubes move around. Grabbing those ones, the Yamanaka placed them evenly in the two glasses in front of her and shoved the tray back up into the freezer.

Smirking, the pinkette hopped down from the counter and strolled casually over to Ino, who was pouring her own Pepsi into her glass. She grabbed one of the ice cubes in her glass, ignoring the questioning glance from Ino, and popped it into her mouth.

_Okay, ten seconds. Or after she puts away the pop._ Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to ignore the fact that her cheek was steadily becoming numb from the ice cube in her mouth. She clicked her teeth together, waiting patiently until Ino had opened up the fridge and put the bottle in after pouring Sakura's drink.

The pinkette opened her mouth when Ino turned to her with a raised eyebrow, using her index finger and thumb to fish the ice cube out of her mouth. She ran her lips over it to get rid of excess spit, then did something Ino hadn't quite been expected, though she should have. Sakura tossed the ice cube towards the blonde. It hit Ino's collar bone before sliding down under her shirt.

That had been exactly where Sakura had wanted it to go. Ino let out a shriek, which was expected because of how cold it was, before trying to fish out the ice cube quickly. She managed to do so after only a few seconds, winging it back at Sakura, who caught it easily and popped it back into her mouth.

"The worst part is that you know where that's been," Ino groaned and shook her head, taking her own drink and retreating back to the living room with it. "You're very sexual, I hope you know that," She muttered, rolling her eyes slightly as she rubbed the wet trail off of her skin.

"Ino-sexual, maybe," Sakura practically bounced after Ino with her drink, taking a seat next to the blonde. She sipped her drink, now quite content with being shirtless. That made a light go off in her head. "Hey, Ino..."

"Hm?" Ino looked up from the rim of her glass, tilting her head slightly at the pinkette.

"How come you still have your shirt on?"

Ino smirked. "That's 'cause I don't want you to get any ideas. In fact, I doubt you'd be listening to a word I say if I was shirtless. I know it may sound weird for you, but not everyone has a gutter-mind like you do, Kitten," She hid her grin by taking a sip of her drink, looking straight ahead.

"Sure they do. They just prefer to keep it a secret, unlike me," Sakura said proudly. "In fact," She started, placing her glass on the coffee table that was sitting in front of the couch before laying down on Ino's lap, her head on the arm rest and her upper back on the blonde's legs, "I bet you have as much of a gutter-mind as I do," She finished confidently.

"Absolutely," Ino said, deciding to humour the pinkette. "I mean, right this moment, I'm sexing you with my eyes." To emphasize her point, she moved her eyes down from Sakura's face to look at her barely-clothed chest, making sure that the Haruno knew exactly where she was looking. She struggled to keep a straight face from the fact that she could see Sakura blushing out of the corner of her eye. "Aw, are you embarrassed?"

"No!" Sakura said quickly, taking a few moments to try and think up an excuse. "I'm just flushed from thinking about what you're doing to me with your eyes right this minute" Satisified with her excuse, she breathed a calm sigh of relief and allowed herself to relax, setting a hand lightly on her exposed stomach.

"Sure you are," Ino smirked and removed her right hand from the glass, resting it over top of Sakura's. After watching with amusement as Sakura wriggled around slightly from the coldness of her finger tips on the pinkette's stomach, the blonde slowly looked back up to Sakura's face to see a giddy smile slowly spreading across her face.

_Just think, not even a week ago I was daydreaming about what it would be like if Ino actually returned my feelings. I doubt that I'd have been able to believe anyone that told me that this would happen in a few days back then! _Sakura sighed happily, looking away from the ceiling to make eye contact with a pair of curious and amused teal eyes. "It's amazing how you can make me feel so happy without even trying," She said, inwardly swooning at how cute Ino was when she blushed.

Cautiously, as if she was unsure if she should do so, Ino reached out and gingerly stroked Sakura's hair after setting her drink down beside Sakura's, slowly moving down to cup the pinkette's cheek. "I can assure you that the feeling is mutual," She purred out, steadily drawing closer.

Sakura raised her head slightly, mouth twitching a bit from expecting to be kissed. However, she hadn't expected Ino to purposely draw closer to her lips only to move further up and peck her forehead. "_Ino!_" Sakura whined, looking pleadingly up at the giggling blonde. "That hardly qualifies as an actual kiss! First of all, it can't just last for...well, not even a second like all pecks do. Second, you can't kiss my forehead or cheek!"

_Now_ Sakura was fully expecting a kiss. This was why she berated herself for not remembering that this had been _Ino_ she was trying to boss around, the girl that always tried to find a loop-hole in everything. She had managed to do just that, since the blonde had leaned down and had given the tip of her nose a peck that lasted about one and a half seconds.

"You are such a _pig, _Ino," Sakura muttered before leaning up to the grinning girl, taking it upon herself to start their _actual_ kiss for the moment.

* * *

To quote my friend, "Haha, _sexual_."

Once again, thanks goes out to Death Sword for the wrestling-esque idea. I'll make sure to have that deal pop up in the next few chapters.

'Kay, so...Hopefully I won't take as long to update again like I did this time. What happened was that I couldn't start either this chapter or the next one for 'Too Much, Not Enough' because I couldn't think of how I should. Then, one day, I wrote, like...most of tis and about half of the other. Then I lost it. Then, I wrote the end of this, went 'Save Changes', only to find that I had to login again. The ending was a bit longer and a bit different (not by much, though. The only actual difference I can spot is that Sakura had her hand over Ino's, not the other way around, in the first one) than the first one I did. Oh well, I still got it out.

- Flower Cynic


End file.
